Blood Bath
by RoboticSpaceCase
Summary: When billionaire Bill Cipher seems to be getting away with murder, P.I. Stanford Pines sends his nephew Detective Dipper Pines under cover to a club that is owned by Bill, where occasionally people that go in, never come out. Dipper finds more than he ever thought he would, and becomes involved in the world of demons, whether he likes it or not. Billdip
1. Little Club of Horrors

_**AN: I do this late, so expect errors.**_ _ **I may go back and edit later, but it can take some time :p**_

 _ **Sooo, this is gonna be dark. Like. Do not read this if you're not okay with gore, mentions of rape, murder, abuse, and general too-real things. I wanted to try my hand at something dark, and when this story came to my head, I thought, why the hell not. Please do not think that because I wrote of these things means that I think they're okay, because a lot of this will not be okay. But hey, a story is just that; a story. Anyway, with that outa the way, please enjoy the darker side of my mind.**_

The cold air chilled the young man to his bones. It wasn't supposed to get cold this time of year, but something in the air that night called for a jacket. He tried his best to keep a natural pose about himself, as he didn't want to blow his cover.

His boss, and family member, Stanford Pines, one of the most respected P.I.s in the entire country, had sent him on a mission that he was sure only Dipper could do. Ford knew it had to be someone sharp, but looked soft, quick, but natural, and Dipper fit that bill. As much as Ford would love to have been the one to go undercover, his face was too well known, and he would be spotted immediately.

Dipper, was not so sure about it all though. Sure he wasn't well known, and honestly blended into a crowd better than most people, but he didn't think he was right for the job. He was a nervous wreck half of the time, and stumbled on his words more often than not.

Not exactly the best man for a lie as big as a new identity and life. But, he would never question Ford. The man knew what he was doing.

So, he stood there, in line for the club known as Blue Glow, the most popular club in the city, run by one of the richest men in the world. Bill Cipher.

The tycoon had come out of nowhere one day, buying out company after company, claiming that he was born into a small fortune, and just knew how to make it grow. But Ford hadn't bought that, and neither had Dipper. Something was fishy about the man, but anything bad brought up about him was dismissed, since money seemed to do that for people.

But Ford wouldn't sit by and watch as the man got away with what he assumed was murder, or at least kidnapping, since every so often people that went into the club, would never come out. Again, the amount of money Bill had was stupid, and it wasn't often enough that the actual authorities would look into it, so he was getting away with whatever was going on.

Dipper huffed at the line in front of him. It stretched on for a mile. Or, so it looked like anyway. It was moving fairly fast, since the bouncer was quick to dismiss anyone who didn't look like they would fit into the scene of the club. Which gave Dipper more chills, since he wasn't exactly a sexy, cool cat, kind of guy. He had a round face, his brown hair was always fluffy, and his nose was often described as the cutest feature on his face.

There was a group of friends in front of him, all dressed sharply and looked like they could be models. They would definitely be let in. Maybe if he befriended them a little bit before they got to the door, the bouncer would let the whole group in, not minding that Dipper, who was dressed to fit the part, still looked like a puppy in the face.

He took a deep breath before trying to say hello, and had to think of a good ice breaker, since they might be a little stuck up and hard to befriend.

"I hope this club is worth the wait. I haven't been before. Have you?" He patted himself on the back mentally. Asking a question made it more likely that he would get an answer.

The tallest one of the four guys, who had ink-black hair cut into a fohawk, turned to Dipper and tilted his head. "Haven't been? This is the place man! Perfect to get wasted, and plenty of hotties looking to hook up."

Dipper nodded and smiled, hoping that he looked relaxed and cool, rather than dorky. "So they got good drinks? I haven't been to a decent bar in a while."

"Yeah, the drinks are pretty good, and decently priced for a club this swanky. Stick by me and I'll show you a few favorites." The man smiled back at him and his friends moved aside, letting Dipper into the small circle.

Wow, that was easy. Dipper almost sighed in relief, but managed to keep it to himself. "Thanks."

He stayed out of their conversation for the most part, trying not to blow his cover, since he honestly could not connect with these guys, but would chime in every so often so that he wouldn't be excluded.

Finally, after a good forty-something minutes, they reached the door. The bouncer was a large, large man, with dark eyes and skin that looked more like leather, and he eyeballed each of them carefully.

Dipper could feel himself holding his breath, but kept a calm look on his face, trying to mimic the way that the others were holding themselves.

The man lifted the rope, and motioned for the group to go inside.

That time Dipper did let out a sigh of relief, as the sound of the music was loud enough to cover it up.

He had never been in a club before, or at least not one of this size. Two floors, filled with half naked people, dancing, drinking, flirting, - maybe that couple in the corner was having sex, he couldn't tell - and the whole place smelled like expensive perfume and fake fog. The music and lights were almost too much for him at first, and he got separated from the group he came in with quickly, since the crowd pushed them apart and Dipper was too busy trying to breath to care.

It worked out for him anyway though, since he needed to be alone to find the more, behind the scenes places of the club.

He needed a better vantage point, so he decided to climb the glass stairs to the second floor, where there was less dancing, and more flirting and drinking.

There was no way he was going to get caught up with anyone, and he he needed a clear head, so drinks were out of the picture. There had to be a door or something, leading to a staff area, which would hopefully be unlocked, and unguarded, or at least have someone that would believe he had entered by mistake, while "looking for the bathroom".

With all of the smoke and lights, all of the walls were just black to him though. After a while of searching, he got frustrated, and just started to walk along the walls with his hand feeling it lightly as he walked.

Bingo. A door that said, "STAFF ONLY". He tried the handle, and found that it was unlocked, then looked around to see if anyone would notice him sneaking in.

All of the people around him were too focused on other things to even acknowledge his existence, so he was in the clear.

He had to remind himself that confidence was key, and that the more confident you looked while doing something, the less people would question it. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

An empty hall stretch out in front of him, with a few doors on the left and right, and one at the very end that had a large exit sign above it.

Good. If things got messy, he had his way out.

Careful not to let his footsteps make too much noise in the strangely quiet hall, he tiptoed to the first door, on his left, and found that it was locked. There was no sign or anything on it, so he figured that it may just be a closet. He was hoping there would be a file room, where there might be some record of what was happening to the missing people, but the only door that had any kind of marking on it was one further down the hall, and all that was on it was a plain, yellow triangle.

He doubted that they would mark the room anyway, because if there were records of the missing people, they would probably want them as hidden as possible.

Trying the second door, he found that it did open, but it lead to a supply closet, filled with nothing but cleaning supplies. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of bleach and the other chemicals, then closed the door slowly.

"Let me guess," a high-pitched voice, one that he had heard before, sounded from behind him "looking for the bathroom?"

Dipper spun around and was met with a pair of golden eyes, glaring down at him, as the man was nearly a foot taller than he was. He stammered over his words, and in the end couldn't spit out a response. Some detective he was.

Bill smiled at him, revealing his sharp set of teeth. "What's your name?"

Another man, one that resembled the bouncer in the way that he was large, and packed with muscle, came from the room marked with the golden triangle, and walked over to them quickly. "This kid givin' you trouble boss?" His voice was a lot deeper than Dipper thought it would be, and it shook his insides.

Bill took a deep breath and his smile vanished. "If he tells me his name, then no. But if not," he tapped Dipper's chest with his index finger "then you can take care of him."

"Danny. My name is Danny." This was his fake name of course, but he spit it out as naturally as possible, hoping that it sounded like he had said it a thousand times before.

His smile returned as he grabbed Dipper's chin with one hand, and shooed the man away with the other. "Well, Danny, let's have a chat in my lounge, shall we?"

Dipper gulped and nodded, then followed the man to the room marked with the triangle.

A large, black leather, sectional sofa wrapped around the room, and sat in front of a TV large enough to take up almost the entire wall it hung on. Everything in the room was yellow or black, which perfectly matched Bill's appearance, since he was a blond, wearing a black tank-top under an oversized yellow trench coat, that hung loosely on his thin shoulders. It has strange symbols on the cuffs, and a brick-like pattern on the bottom. He was wearing black, fingerless gloves, and honestly looked like a new-age pirate, which made Dipper want to laugh.

In all of the videos of the man, never once had he worn anything that wasn't dapper, or that didn't scream, "rich person".

Bill closed the door behind them, and motioned for Dipper to sit on the couch. "Would you like a drink? I have anything your little heart could possibly desire."

"No thank you," he said almost too quickly. He had to play it cool. He had no idea what Bill was playing at, and why he didn't just tell his bodyguard to throw him out.

Things were looking a little bleak though. There was no way he was going to make it very far undercover, since he hadn't expected to meet face to face with Bill, at least, not so soon.

"Danny. Danny, Danny, Danny." Bill shook his head as he poured himself what looked like vodka, and watched Dipper out of the corner of his eye, as he sat down on the couch. "I don't like it."

"Excuse me?" Dipper looked over at the man and tilted his head.

Bill spun around on his heels, and took a large swig of his drink, tilting back a little as he drank. "The name. I don't like it." He sauntered over to the couch and sat right next to Dipper, throwing his free arm around Dipper's shoulders. "You need a new one."

"Excuse me?" he repeated.

He smiled and shook his head. "I've decided you're going to be my pet. I get to name my pet, don't I?"

Dipper couldn't say excuse me again, since it would make him look stupid, so he said the next thing that came to mind. "What?"

"Well, seeing as you were sneaking around, my building, and seeing as I saved your life from my bodyguard, 8-Ball, I get to keep you." Bill tightened his grip on Dipper's shoulders and took another gulp or two from his drink.

"I-I don't foll-"

"Funny," Bill interrupted "what a twist of fate it was that I ran into you though. I usually never leave my room while I'm here, but something told me to go check on the party in the main building. Lowe and behold, I run into you, sneaking through the hallway. What were you doing out there anyway, Pine Tree?"

Pine Tree? Dipper tilted his head and gave him a quizzical look.

Bill rolled his eyes and pointed to the little logo on Dipper's shirt. It was a small black Pine Tree that was sown into the blue button up shirt. "Your shirt. Now answer, my question."

"Well, like you said, I was looking for the bathroom. I needed a breather from all the people, and I haven't been here before, so I got a little lost." It wasn't exactly the lie and character he had been told to use, but he figured at this point he just had to go with what came, and hoped for the best.

"Hm." Bill swished his drink around in the glass, before finishing it off. "Well then, I suppose I should show you around! But, before we get started, tell me more about yourself. Got any family?"

Dipper shook his head. He was told to act as "lone-wolf"-ish as possible. "Not really. Just the one, and he likes to check up every so often, but not too much lately, since I moved."

Bill's smile widened and he nodded. "You much of a people person? Many friends?"

"That's why I came here. I'm new to the area, so I don't really know anyone. I heard this was the place to be, so I dressed up and headed over."

"How old are you? Twenty three?" Bill set his glass down on the floor, moving away from Dipper for only a second before he resumed his hold over his shoulders.

"Twenty four, as of two months ago." That much was true. He used a lot of his real information, since it would be easier to remember.

Bill nodded, then let his head fall back onto the couch. "Well, you know a lot about me, I assume. You can't be this rich and famous and not have all of your info. splattered across the web."

"Yeah, I do."

He stood up, and grabbed Dipper's hand, yanking him up out of his seat. "Follow me, I'll give you that tour I promised."

They walked through the club, not getting stopped once, to an area that Dipper hadn't noticed before. It was a set of black doors, blocked off by another velvet rope, and yet another large man.

He didn't even think two seconds before lifting the rope for Bill, and glared at Dipper as the two past through the doors, which lead to an elevator.

Bill pressed the bottom button, and stood quietly until they reached the basement of the building. "You see," he said suddenly "there's only one place in this club that's actually worth seeing. Besides my lounge, of course."

The doors opened, and a sickening smell hit Dipper's nose. He had been around it enough to know, that it was the smell of blood. Fresh, and old. It was strong too, making him gag a little.

"Some of my, VIP, guests, have a certain craving, and need a place to partake in said craving. I myself only do it every so often, when someone lucky enough wanders across my path, but others like to do it, sometimes as often as, once a week."

There was a long hall in front of them, with small areas blocked off by thick, yellow, velvet curtains, that were about a foot too short to reach the floor.

Bill pulled Dipper from the elevator, and it closed behind them. As they walked down the hall, a strange crunching sound got louder and louder.

Off to his right, a dark liquid oozed out from underneath one of the curtains, and pooled near a drain in the middle of the walk way.

Bill stepped through it without hesitating, but Dipper stopped before it and paled.

The liquid was red, and smelled of copper.

His legs shook and he gagged a little. "I-is this blood?"

Exposing his sharp teeth again, Bill smiled and nodded to the curtain. "Can't handle a bit of blood, Pine Tree?"

Dipper shook his head. "What's going on behind the curtain Bill?"

"One of my favorite guests, and good friend, is partaking in her monthly treat. She gets a pick of guests at the club, since she has been very helpful in my rise to power."

Dipper shook his head and stared in disbelief. "That's cannibalism."

Bill laughed and shook his head. "Oh, little Pine Tree. You'd have to be the same species for it to count as cannibalism." He moved the curtain back, giving Dipper a view of what the crunching noise was.

Sitting on the red leathered booth, was a woman, with orange skin, completely naked. She had several, deep red eyes staring back at him, and a large smile, filled with sharp teeth like Bill's, all soaked in blood.

In front of her, was the worst part. The part that almost made Dipper lose his cool. What was left of a man's head, sat on the small table, next to his ripped open chest, where his organs were carved out and bits of them were still hanging from his shattered ribcage.

"Hey Bill!" Her voice was so high-pitched it almost hurt Dipper's ears. "Coming to join me? I see you brought a tasty looking one!"

Dipper stepped back and looked at Bill, who just chuckled.

"Nah, I'm going to keep this one for a minute. He's my plaything now."

"Oh, well have fun!" She looked at Dipper and giggled. "You look like you want some," she teased.

Dipper had to have been as white as paper, and was trembling so hard he almost couldn't stay upright. He had seen his fair share of gore, and horrible things, but this, this took the cake.

"Calm down Pine Tree, Filly's one of my cleaner guests. I can show you the way 8-Ball eats, if you need comparison."

"No!" Dipper stepped back and looked at Bill. "What are you?"

Bill smirked. "We're demons. Came straight up from hell to visit your human realm. Soon, I'm going to own the whole damned thing, and lead it straight into the ground." He walked over to Dipper, and put his arm around his shoulders again. "And I'd like you to stick around for it. Something about you screams, 'right hand man of Bill Cipher, the demon who brought down the human race!'"

Dipper moved out from under him and shook his head. "No, no, no."

Bill's face darkened, and he pursed his lips. Blue flames engulfed him, and his eyes turned fully yellow, leaving only small cat-like iris', and his nails turned into claws, which he used to grab Dipper by the jaw.

The flames didn't seem to be burning Dipper, which he was thankful for, since they swallowed both of them.

"You either accept my offer, or I'll rip you open right here, Pine Tree." He used his other hand to dig one of his sharp nails into Dipper's arm, causing him to yelp. He raised the finger that was then covered in blood to his lips and licked it clean. "You are very tasty Pine Tree, and you're running out of time. Tick. Tock."

Dipper wanted no part of this twisted, fucked up, demon party. But, he couldn't help put an end to it if he were dead. No matter how much he didn't want to see anymore of this, or how much he was afraid of Bill, he had to say yes. He had to put an end to the murders. To the demon who wanted to bring the human race down with him.

"Fine. I'll do it."

Bill relaxed his grip and the flames died down. "Good. You will listen to everything I saw, and do exactly as you're told. If not, then you'll end up like him." He pointed to the disembodied man on the table. "Either way, I'm going to love having you, Pine Tree."


	2. Bill Cipher, Strides out of the Closet

The club music began to die down as the night went on, and eventually the club emptied, leaving Dipper alone with the demons, who were acting surprisingly human, as they cleaned up and got the club ready for its next day.

Bill had walked Dipper back to the lounge room, and sat him down while he changed into the more dapper clothing Dipper was used to seeing him in.

"Now, Pine Tree." His voice had changed a little, sounding more like the stuck-up rich guy Dipper thought he was. "There is usually people taking pictures of me. I don't blame them, this body I made is amazing, but anyway, if you are to be seen with me, you must act as if you are not horrified of the world around you." He turned to face Dipper while he fixed his black bow-tie. "I can still see the shock in your eyes. Kill it. Or you'll hardly see the light of day."

"Yeah, okay, I'll just wipe the horrible images from my mind. Easy," he said sarcastically. He wasn't sure how to handle Bill at this point. An all powerful demon parading around as a human, who would literally eat him at the drop of a hat if he did something wrong, and he was stuck pretending to be another man. Things had gone south for him, fast.

Bill walked over to him as he rolled up the sleeves of his black button-up, and smirked, his once sharp teeth dulled, to look more human. "Don't think that I won't shut that mouth of yours by force, Pine Tree." He sat on Dipper, facing him.

Dipper pushed himself into the couch as much as possible. He wasn't about to just give in to Bill. It wasn't like he could protest much, but he wasn't going to just give up. There was no telling what Bill would do to him if he gave in.

"Hm," he hummed. He lifted Dipper's chin and examined his lips. "Oh yes, I could do lots of things to keep these lips busy."

"Uh," Dipper gulped. He had an idea of what Bill was thinking, and he didn't like it.

A buzzing sound came from Dipper's pocket, and his whole body froze. It was Ford, calling for his check in. It must've been morning already.

Bill dug the cell phone from Dipper's pocket and looked at the screen for a moment. "Uncle Carson, huh? This must be the family member you spoke of."

"Y-yeah, I should probably answer so that he doesn't worry."

Bill swiped his finger across the screen, answering the phone, and putting it on speaker. "Yellow?"

"Uh, Danny? I was just checking in on you. I thought you'd call by now."

"Oh, Danny's a little busy right now."

Dipper bit his tongue. Ford was going to know that something was really wrong. They had a procedure set in place if they thought that Dipper may be in danger, but Dipper knew now that it wouldn't work. They couldn't defeat Bill. Not now. Even if they stormed the building with everything they had, - which they wouldn't, since there was no real proof of the danger - Bill and his demons would likely slaughter them all.

"Can I speak with him?"

"Well I'm sure you could, seeing as you have a mouth."

That was going to irk Ford. Dipper had faith in him not to lose his cool though, and resisted cringing at the demon's bad joke.

"May, I speak with Danny?"

Bill smiled. "Of course. Danny, say hello."

"Uh, hey Carson. What's up?" Dipper tried to sound as calm as possible, but his voice cracked.

"I was just wondering if you wanted me to pick up any cucumbers from the farmers market. I know you love them, and I'm worried they'll run out if I don't get some today. I can ship them over to you fairly quickly." That was their code phrase for, "do you need me to get you the hell out of there?".

"Nah, I'm okay. I'm sure they'll have them for a while. Hey, I'm busy right now though, I'll call you back later."

"Alright. Talk to you then."

Bill ended the call and stared Dipper in the eye. He put the phone into his own pocket, and stood up. "I'll be your communications liaison from now on."

Dipper nodded, and was about to stand up, but was met with a hard, cracking sensation in his jaw.

Bill had backhanded him, hard, hitting him right on his cheek bone. "That's for giving me lip earlier, Pine Tree. Don't let it happen again."

His cheek stung, and he was cringing at the pain. Demons hit a lot harder than any thug he had fought before. "Okay," he huffed.

Bill's cold hand pressed up against the heat in Dipper's cheek, and he made a tsking sound. "I've bruised you. I suppose we can introduce you to the cameras another day. For now," he moved his hand away harshly, making Dipper flinch "we'll just have to go to my place and get you accustomed to your new home."

They walked quietly to Bill's car, passing a few of his demon friends on the way. They all said hello to Bill, but he only responded with a quick nod, or ignored them completely.

None of them seemed to mind either way, and were more focused on the human walking sheepishly behind him.

"Now, Pine Tree." Bill stopped at the curb in front of the building, and watched the expensive sports car make its way to them. "This car is the one I like to be seen in the most. Try not to cry on the leather."

Dipper wanted so badly to tell him where he could shove his leather, but refrained, since his cheek still stung from the last comment.

8-Ball stepped out of the still running car, and left the door open for Bill. "Car's ready for ya' boss."

Bill nudged Dipper's arm lightly, and kept his stare on 8-Ball. "Get in the car and look happy, or I'm leaving you in it for the day."

He tilted his head, and in the small moment of silence, he could hear a clicking sound coming from his right. Paparazzi. Of course Bill would have some followers the second he stepped out of one of his buildings.

Afraid of what Bill would do if Dipper made him look bad in front of the camera, Dipper put on what happy face he could, then got into the car.

As soon as both doors were closed, Dipper sighed.

"Oh cheer up," Bill scoffed. "You almost got eaten three times tonight, and yet here you are, in one of the fastest cars in the world, sitting next to the most powerful man in the world. Doesn't that excite you, at least a little bit?"

"Not if my life is constantly on the line. I'm no good at micro managing myself."

Bill began to drive off, clearly speeding for the road that they were on. "I promise not to eat you, for at least one solid week. We'll discuss this again after that time, but that should at least put you at ease for now."

Dipper let his head fall back onto the headrest, and looked out the window. It was already almost eight in the morning, and he was just realizing how exhausted he was. Out of habit he yawned and clenched his eyes shut for a moment, trying to wake himself up a bit. He had spent many, many sleepless nights working on cases with Ford, and he was really never one to get so tired so quickly, but the panic and the shock from the night before had taken a toll on him, and he was ready for sleep.

"Oh no, you're not getting any sleep until I've had some fun with you."

Dipper felt his stomach churn. After the comment about his lips, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what "fun" meant. Would Bill actually go that far?

Who was Dipper kidding, he literally just saw a demon, eating a person. And Bill was one of those things. Doing non-consensual sexual things was definitely not the worst thing Bill has done, and the that thought was enough to make Dipper start to panic.

He tried desperately not to let Bill see that he was breathing so quickly, but when he pulled up to a red light, Bill looked over and watched as Dipper took several deep breaths.

"Fuck kid," he chuckled. "You need to start learning to roll with things. This little panic thing you're doing is killing the air right now. Knock it off or you're going to know what it's like to have both of your shoulders dislocated at the same time."

Dipper gulped and took one final deep breath. He had to relax. He had to show no emotion towards Bill, since it seemed like that was the thing getting him in trouble.

"There ya go! See, isn't that much better? Look outside, enjoy that sunshine while you can!" Bill gestured to the world around them, and smiled as the light turned green. "Now when we get home, you're going to take a shower, eat something, then meet me in my bedroom. Okay?"

"Sure," Dipper mumbled.

Bill's house was as massive in person as if was in pictures, and Dipper couldn't help but gawk at it.

The massive building was a spanish-style mansion, with multiple cars park in front, all worth more than Dipper cared to even imagine.

He walked sluggishly as Bill showed him where each room - or at least the rooms Dipper was allowed in - was, and made sure he followed Bill's instructions to a T.

Maybe if he didn't protest, Bill would refrain from the "fun" he spoke of.

The shower didn't last long, since he was a little afraid of being naked in the house, and he couldn't find it in himself to eat anything, so off to Bill's room he went.

Each step felt heavier and heavier as he approached the door, and when his hand clasped over the handle, he almost had another panic attack. He remembered what Bill had said in the car though, and took a nice, long, deep breath before opening the door.

Bill was lying on the bed, shirtless and in a yellow pair of boxers. "Shirt."

"What?" Dipper closed the door behind himself and felt a knot tie in his throat.

"Off."

He froze and stared back at Bill for a moment. "You want me to take my shirt off?"

"Yes," he sighed. "Stop being so stupid."

Shaking, he unbuttoned his shirt, and let it slid off his shoulders.

"Now, come here."

Honestly, he was relieved that he hadn't asked him to take off more clothing, and was happy to end the short strip show.

Like the lounge room, his bedroom was yellow and black, everything looking as if it were placed perfectly to make sure there wasn't too much yellow or black in one spot. The bed was no exception, as the sheets were a yellow silk, and the comforter was an ink black.

As soft as they were, Dipper couldn't get comfortable as he laid next to the demon, who immediately wrapped his arms around him.

Dipper could feel Bill's hot breath on his neck, and tensed up when the demon opened his mouth.

"This sure has been an eventful day, hasn't it?"

Dipper nodded quickly, not wanting to answer incorrectly.

Bill chuckled at his obvious discomfort and pressed his nose into Dipper's neck. "Mmm, you even smell delicious."

His breath hitched and he tightened the muscles in his chest, hoping to stop another panic attack.

There was a warm, wet feeling on his neck suddenly, and he shivered as Bill's tongue pressed into his throat, and he let out a whimper on accident as it met his jaw bone.

"Oh, Pine Tree," he said softly. "It's only going to be terrible if you think of it that way." He kissed his jaw lightly, then moved his lips to Dipper's shoulder. He opened his mouth, and dragged his sharp teeth across his skin, making Dipper shudder. "I know I promised not to eat you," Bill huffed "but I think I'm going to at least treat myself to you flavor."

"W-what do you mean?"

Bill moved his hand to Dipper's mouth, and clamped it down, holding it shut, as his teeth dug into Dipper's flesh.

It was painful. Oh, was it painful. Dipper tried to let out loud cries, but Bill held his mouth shut. He squirmed a bit at first, but quickly found that moving made it hurt even worse.

The demon wasn't taking a chunk out of him like Dipper had first thought, but was instead drinking the blood that was gushing from the wound.

His hand finally slipped off of Dipper's mouth, but his mouth remained on his shoulder, still drinking the blood oozing out.

"This is gross," Dipper said softly.

Bill lifted his head to face Dipper, and smiled, letting blood drip from his lips. "You haven't even seen, gross, Pine Tree. Now, why don't you get some rest?

As much as Dipper didn't want to sleep, his eyes betrayed him shortly after, since he was really light headed from the blood loss, and he drifted off in Bill's arms.

He didn't dream that night, which was a bit odd, since he usually always dreamed, but he blamed it on the exhaustion and blood loss.

Light slowly filled the room, as Dipper blinked awake, and saw that Bill was getting dressed into one of his rich-boy outfits.

That meant they had somewhere to go that day, which made Dipper groan. He attempted to sit up, but fell back down as his head made the world around him shake and spin.

Bill chuckled and tossed a shirt and pair of pants at him. "Get dressed. If you're not done by time I'm done making our reservations, I'll tie you to the bed with barbed wire."

Dipper forced himself up, and winced through the pounding in his headache. "Reservations?" His speech was slurred a little, and he rubbed at his temples a bit before pulling the blue, V-neck over his head. It perfectly covered the horribly red marks Bill's teeth had left, which were strangely cleaned off and had had an ointment rubbed on them at some point.

"We have to make our relationship seem all sweet, and made of flowers, and all that bullshit you humans think is romantic."

"Relationship?"

Bill smiled and touched at his hair, styling it perfectly so that his bangs covered most of his left eye. "Can't you see it? Billionaire Bill Cipher, Strides out of the Closet with New Arm Candy! You humans eat that shit up! I'll look like a hero coming out to a world as harsh as this."

Dipper wanted so badly to object, and tell him how messed up it was to exploit the LGBT community like that, but kept his mouth shut, since the horrible aching pain in his shoulder was proof that he was going to get enough punishment without his smart quips.

"If you behave, you can have your own room, where you'll be given time to yourself. At least for a couple hours a day while I deal with boring business stuff. If you mess this up though, you get to be dragged to all of the meetings with me. Literally dragged. Don't fuck this up Pine Tree." Bill used Dipper's phone to call a little coffee shop near the beach, using a voice that seemed sweet and heart-felt.

It made Dipper sick to his stomach. He had managed to get himself fully dressed, and glared at the demon behind his back as he spoke to the person on the other end. For Bill to be acting so human, after all the people he had killed, not to mention, eaten, was sickening.

"Go get in the blue car. I'll be out in a second." Bill chucked a ring of car keys at Dipper, who luckily caught them before they smacked into his head.

Each ring had a small dot of color on it, corresponding to the color of car each key went to. There had to have been at least ten keys on the ring, and Dipper had to keep them all in his fist as he walked out to the car to keep them from making a ton of noise.

He unlocked the blue car, then sat in the passenger seat. Not sure if he should put the key in the ignition or not, he sat the keys in the cup holder and waited for Bill to come out.

"Here," Bill said as he tossed a small bag onto Dipper's lap. "We're not leaving this driveway until you cover that bruise."

The bag had make up in it, and Dipper just blinked at it for a moment. "I have no idea how to put makeup on Bill."

"For fuck's sake," Bill chuckled. "Give it here."

He handed the bag over to him, and Bill proceeded to lightly brush makeup over the blue and red bruise. It wasn't very large, but it did stick out without the makeup on.

"There. Now let's go. Sweetheart." Bill shook his head. "No, no, that one doesn't work. Hunny? Uh, babe?"

"Can we just leave it at Pine Tree?"

Bill smiled as the engine roared to life. "Pine Tree it stays then."

Dipper was not used to so many faces gawking at him. The whole place was packed, and each face was turned to the small table where Bill and Dipper sat.

"Put your hand on the table," Bill said quietly.

Dipper hesitated for a moment, and tried to keep his cool, but his face felt hot and he started to breath funny. "I've never had this many people looking at me."

Bill smiled, but Dipper could see anger in his eyes. "Hand. Table. Or I'll chalk this up as a failure."

With one deep breath, Dipper lifted his hand as casually as possible, and placed it on the table.

A few whispers went through the crowd, as Bill placed his hand over Dipper's. "Now blush and look stupid."

Dipper looked down at the white table cloth, and forced a sheepish smile.

"Perfect. Now finish your coffee and we'll go spread our new found love at the mall. If you're good, I'll let you sleep in your own bed tonight."

As Dipper's luck would have it, there were even more people at the mall. All staring them down, whispering and chuckling every so often.

Bill didn't seemed phased by it in the least bit, and just walked quietly next to Dipper as they went into a few stores that had price tags bigger than Dipper dared to even glance at.

With Bill distracted by trying to act human, Dipper had time to think. Okay, so "behaving" equalled alone time and space away from Bill. That was good. It would give him time to make up an actual plan, rather than just flinching away from Bill whenever he got too close.

Behaving. He could do that. He could stomach it. Right? He looked up at Bill, who glanced down at him with a questioning look.

"What?"

It was now or never. Time to be the best damned fake boyfriend this demon had ever seen. As much as it made Dipper want to puke, he smiled at him and grabbed his hand.

"Let's go look at the sunglasses! I think you'd look really good with a gold pair."

Bill paused and tilted his head, then slowly smiled. "I suppose we can, Pine Tree."

As they walked out of earshot of the few people around them, Bill tugged Dipper in closer and gave him a small peck on the top of his head. "Someone just earned cell phone privileges for the night."

Dipper took a deep breath and repressed a shiver. This was going to be tough, and he would have to pull his head out of the clouds to make a real, working plan, but he could do it. He could stop Bill, and he would get to go back to his real life. He was smart enough, he was brave enough. He could do this.


	3. You Win Some, You Lose Some

_**AN: Okay, so here's kind of a short chapter just bringing in a few more characters, and setting up the scene for the next few chapters. Enjoy!**_

The small office room where Ford spent most of his time felt a little empty without Dipper around. He was usually there to bounce ideas off of, or just to have idle chatter. But, now he spent a lot of his time alone, ignoring the rest of his staff, even though they were all working the same case. Somehow banter about cases with others just wasn't the same.

It had been a day already since he sent Dipper off to go undercover, and already his first check in was sketchy, and made Ford consider calling the whole thing off. His co-workers convinced him not to, which he ended up being thankful for, since Dipper seemed to have things under control, for the time being.

He came out of the office a little late in the day to get some more coffee, and saw that everyone was crowded around Wendy's computer screen.

It was probably just some dumb viral video they were all watching, so he shuffled over to tell them to stop slacking off.

"Ford, you gotta see this!" Wendy paused the video and restarted it, then scooted her chair over to make room for him.

"Billionaire Bill Cipher was spotted with some new arm candy today, as he and his new companion were spotted having a romantic lunch, then a date to the mall, where Bill seemed to spoil his new," the reporter paused, and a picture of Bill and Dipper appeared on the screen, with the two holding hands and smiling "boyfriend! Is one of the world's most powerful men swinging for the other team? Our specia-"

Wendy paused the video and looked to Ford, as did his three other detectives that were working the Bill Cipher case with him.

"Dipper is either a master at going undercover, or has struck a large well of dumb-luck." Ford wasn't sure if he should smile or not. The check in made it sound like Dipper was likely being held against his will, but the video he just watched made it seem like Dipper knew, exactly, what he was doing.

"No offense, but knowing Dipper, that was some fantastic dumb luck." Wendy stood up from her chair and grabbed her own coffee mug off of her desk. "Think he can handle it?"

Ford took a deep breath and shrugged. "I believe in Dipper. That's why I chose him for this job. I hid him from the public eye as much as possible, and have made linking us as co-workers, or family, nearly impossible for anyone wanting to search for him. He was kind of a shut in anyway, so it wasn't too hard, but still, he's been prepped and is the perfect person for bringing Bill Cipher down. I can feel it."

Dipper was quiet on the way back to Bill's house, wanting to stay in the green with Bill. Which seemed to work, since Bill showed him to his room as soon as they arrived, and gave him back his cell phone.

"See what being good gets you? The more you listen, the easier the rest of your existence will be." Bill shoved him into the room then closed the door behind him, locking it. "I'm going to my boring business meetings now, so you're not allowed to have any fun without me!"

Dipper rolled his eyes then examined the room that he was going to be spending his time in.

Compared to the rest of the house, it was plain. White walls, blue bedding, a brown dresser, vanity, and nightstand, and an empty desk next to a door that lead into his own bathroom.

It definitely wasn't the worst place Bill could have stuck him, but it wasn't exactly a boredom killer either.

No, he had to keep looking on the brightside of things. He was alive, he was in a place with little distractions, and he had his phone. He could call Ford and check in.

He unlocked the phone to see that Bill had replaced the plain wallpaper to a picture of him, sticking his tongue out. "When they fuck did he take that," Dipper mumbled to himself. If Bill had messed with his phone, then that meant he might've put something on it to monitor everything he did.

He groaned and took a deep breath. That was okay. He had a way to still talk to Ford with out using anything direct that would blow his cover.

"Danny?" Ford was clearly anxious, as the phone only rang once before he got an answer.

"Yeah, it's me. I was just calling you back since we didn't get to talk very much earlier. I'm not busy anymore, but I might not be able to talk much, since I'm not sure what my plans are for the night."

"I see. How's your day been? I saw that you hit it off with Bill Cipher. How exciting!" Ford's tone was anything but convincing, but Dipper knew to play along regardless.

"He's definitely way different than I thought he would be, but I want to stick around and see where this goes. I met him on accident at the club, and we just kind of got to talking, and now I'm at his house," he chuckled. "Anyway, I'd better let you go. Just thought I'd touch base before I plan out the rest of my night."

"Alright, well, I'll speak with you later then."

Dipper ended the call, and decided to go through his phone to see what more Bill had messed with.

His gallery was chuck full of Bill's selfies. He swiped through them, looking at each picture. As the poses went on, Bill's shirt eventually came off and Dipper came into the frame. He was passed out cold on Bill's bed, and the pictures quickly became unsettling. Bill was using Dipper's unconscious body for his pictures, posing his arms in funny positions to make his "sexy" poses look like Dipper was playing along with him

Chills went up his spine as he realized how dangerous something as simple as sleep could be in this place. At least, while Bill was around anyway.

Alright, Dipper had to focus himself and think of what he was going to do.

Bill; super powerful demon who eats people, supplies humans for his friends to eat, and owns property in just about every country on the planet.

And Dipper, well, Dipper was a giant nerd who spent most of his life reading and was now stuck in a bedroom is Bill's house.

Bill had to have a weakness, right? He obviously needed to look good in front of the press and public, so Dipper could probably get away with a little more while they were around other people. Which would be nice, since it was sometimes hard to hold his tongue.

At the same time though, the more alone time he bought himself, the more time he had to plan around new things Bill threw at him. Plus, he really didn't like Bill touching him. He knew what those hands had done, and he wanted no part of them.

He shook his head and focused himself again, since his brain went off on a tangent about the whole, Bill tasting him thing.

After what felt like hours and hours of fighting with himself, he made a game plan. He was going to play along with Bill. He would play boyfriend for the press, be his yes man around other demons, and buy himself the ability to sleep in a bed that didn't have Bill in it. He would watch Bill closely, and learn exactly what makes him tick, and what could be done to tear down his empire.

The doorknob clicked, making Dipper jump up from his bed, and he stared at the door as Bill stepped in, looking a little disheveled.

"Pine Tree, just the man I was hoping to see. I'm glad you stayed in here like I asked you to. Are you finally coming around to behaving for me?"

Dipper nodded and stood up from his bed.

"Good," Bill huffed. "Let's go eat some dinner, then we'll get ready to see what we can do for the night."

The kitchen felt cold compared to the rest of the place, and Dipper found himself shivering a few times as he sat quietly at the table, waiting for Bill to stop dancing around the kitchen while cooking.

"One, vegetarian pasta, for the human, and one human pasta, for the demon," Bill laughed as he set down a plate in front of Dipper.

Dipper gagged a little. "I-it's not really a person, is it?"

Bill stared him in the eyes as he stabbed the fork down into the pasta and shoved a chunk of meat into his mouth. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. You'll never know. Now eat your food."

He looked down at his plate and took a couple deep breaths.

"Geez, alright, it's just chicken. I'm fucking with you."

He wasn't convinced. He didn't want to set Bill off, especially since they were alone, but he did not want to eat any meat that Bill gave him.

Bill rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. "There's one thing you'll come to know about me, Pine Tree, and that's that I am a man of my word. If I make any kind of deal, promise, or agreement, I honor it. I promised not to eat you, and I promise you can eat the damn pasta without breaking your precious moral code you humans hold so dearly."

It was a little strange to Dipper that Bill wanted him to eat so badly, but he figured he'd better not fight with him anymore on it. Bill was getting upset, and he really didn't want to piss him off.

Taking another deep breath, he stabbed the fork into it, getting a decent sized bite onto it, then lifted it to his lips. He got it over quickly, and found that the pasta was actually good. Like, really, really good. And the meat was textured and tasted just like chicken, so he was praying that it was just that.

"This is really good, thank you."

Bill smiled and revealed his sharp teeth, looking more like a demon than a human in that moment. "You're welcome Pine Tree. You know, I can make a pretty killer dessert too, if you would like."

Dipper shook his head. He knew he didn't have enough of an appetite to even eat all of the pasta, there was no way he could bring himself to eat a dessert too, even if it was super delicious.

"Suit yourself. I'll be having a dessert tonight," he chuckled.

Oh god, Dipper hoped he didn't mean anything involving his body. The whole Bill drinking his blood thing still gave him unholy chills, and he didn't want to know what dessert was considered.

They ate in silence, Bill finishing his whole plate, and Dipper only getting about halfway through his, before he stopped.

"Leave the plates here, they'll be taken care of later. For now," he purred "make your way into my bedroom."

Dipper gulped. "I-I thought I got to sleep in my own bed tonight."

Bill let out a loud laugh and stood up. "Oh, Pine Tree. No one said we were going to bed."

It almost felt like his heart had stopped beating, and Dipper couldn't make himself stand up.

He had forgotten about this part. Oh god, he forgot to plan a way to get out of these situations. Of course Bill would try this, even if Dipper had "been good", and he forgot to think of ways out. Or at least, ways to cope with it.

"Okay," he finally choked out. His legs moved robotically underneath him as they carried him to Bill's room.

Emergency plan, Dipper thought to himself. Learn to cope with awful, horrible things. And do it fast.

 _ **AN: Okay, so all of this is done late, you know that, so expect errors.**_

 _ **Here's the smut I wrote at 3am that fits perfectly after this chapter. You can totally not read it and not miss any plot, but I know it sometimes adds to the story, so read it if ya' want.**_

 _ **bloodbathsmut on Tumblr is the blog where you'll find it all**_


	4. Blood Soaked Wardrobe

_**AN: Okay, so I'm hella dumb and can't work this website very well, and I feel like it takes away from the story a bit. Sorry for all the flub ups ;~; Anyway, try to enjoy this next chapter.**_

 _ **Poor Dipdop :p**_

Dipper woke up from what little sleep he got, glad that Bill hadn't kept him in his room. He stayed in his bed for as long as he could, babying his shoulders. Both were sore, and moving the tiniest bit hurt like hell.

A few hours past from when he woke up, and he sat on the bed staring at the wall, trying to block out any thoughts from the night before. Bill was messed up. He knew that. It's just that, he didn't think he would actually go through with something so horrible.

It was strange that Bill left him alone for so long. Maybe he was being rewarded for behaving last night, or maybe Bill was just sleeping in. Did the demon sleep? It almost seemed like he didn't, since Dipper hadn't actually seen him do it once.

"Get up, we're going to the club tonight and you need an outfit for it." Bill waited in the doorway until Dipper got dressed, and laughed at him when he cringed from his shoulder pain.

"Is this going to be something I need to get used to? The biting, I mean," Dipper asked as they walked out to Bill's favorite, yellow, sports car.

Bill ignored him until they were already driving down the road, and sighed before he answered. "Probably. I have a hard time not flat out eating you, so having little tastes now and then will likely save your life."

"Oh." Dipper felt his face pale and he looked out the window. So maybe Bill was trying to keep his word by not eating him. Still though, the bites hurt.

Again, the mall was packed with people, and Dipper found it a little difficult to keep his head high. Not much of his pride was left, and every time someone looked him in the eyes, he couldn't help but think of how shameful he must've looked.

Of course, they didn't know what was happening, but he knew. He knew what he let the demon do to him, he knew that he was hiding this demon's secret.

"Hey, Pine Tree." Bill looked at him through the sunglasses they had picked out last time they were there, and waved a blue flannel shirt in front of him. "I like you in blue. You're getting this."

Dipper nodded and pretended to adore it. "You have great taste!"

Bill smiled warmly at him. "Pick out clothes like this, as many as you feel like you'll need. Get a wardrobe that will fit our lifestyle. You can go to whatever store you like, just be done by five. I'll follow you around and see how you do, and if I like how you do, you can sit with me tonight at the club. If not," he leaned in closer to Dipper and his smile widened "well, let's just say you won't have the best view of things."

Dipper nodded quickly and tried to put himself in a different mood than afraid. He had to act like an excited boyfriend, who was being spoiled by the billionaire that was infatuated with him.

That shouldn't be too hard. Dipper could act. He took a deep breath and a smile spread on his face. "You're too sweet Bill!"

Bill look extremely amused, and Dipper could tell that this was exactly what Bill wanted from him.

The shopping actually did make him feel better, since he was able to find shirts that were soft, and wouldn't rub against his shoulders as harshly, which was his little victory for the day.

Three stores later, Dipper had an entire set of super soft shirts, at least ten pairs of designer jeans, and three pairs of shoes, each in a slightly different color. He didn't bother to try many things on, since his measurements were pretty exact to the sizes he usually wore. That and he really didn't want to be out for very long, so he tried to hurry without looking like he was in a rush.

At each check out, the total for the items was always in the high, triple digits, which Dipper tried not to seem surprised about. Each time, Bill handed his credit card over, and didn't even seem remotely phased by the prices. It must be nice to be a billionaire, Dipper thought to himself.

Bill had even carried the bags, trying to look like the super generous, best boyfriend ever, but as soon as everything was put in the trunk of his car, and the two were alone, he glared at Dipper. "You're lucky you have good taste, Pine Tree. The whole being someone's bag holder is really not my style."

"Sorry." Dipper was looking down at his hands, trying really hard not to roll his eyes at Bill. He didn't have to hold the bags, so why complain? Dipper easily could've done it himself.

"Well, regardless, you did well, so you get to sit by me tonight. Good job."

They went back to Bill's house, where Bill made him put away all of his new clothes, then change into the shirt he had picked out for him.

"You can wear any pants you like, just make sure they are one of the tighter pairs. As for shoes, wear whichever pair makes you most comfortable. Shower first, then when you're done, meet me in the entryway." Bill closed his door, and Dipper listened as his footsteps faded.

He picked out his jeans and shoes quickly, then showered. He took his time, making sure every thing on him was scrubbed clean, since he felt like he was dirtier than usual, but was sure to be dressed and dry as fast as possible. He didn't want to know what Bill would do if he had kept him waiting.

Luckily, Dipper had beaten Bill, and waited for a good ten minutes for him.

"Red car tonight," he said as he walked past Dipper.

They drove to a different club, one that Dipper hadn't heard of before, and they were immediately surrounded by paparazzi. There was no line to get into the club, just one of his large bouncers standing in front of the door, who let them in and blocked off the people taking pictures and asking questions.

The music playing was not nearly as loud as Dipper thought it would be, and there were no flashing lights or obnoxious amounts of fake fog. In fact, it looked way more like a smoking lounge than a club, and the few people inside were all sitting and talking, or drinking at the bar.

"This is a quiet club," Dipper said mostly to himself.

Bill laughed and motioned for Dipper to follow him to a set of black doors. They were going to the basement.

He hesitated to step onto the elevator, but knew if he didn't Bill would get angry.

"This is a club strictly for demons," he said as soon as the doors closed. "We're actually here for more, political reasons. Some demons think I use this as a way to make them look bad, so that they'll all take the blame if things ever went south. So, I have to show up at each location to show that I'm just as guilty as they are."

The elevator stopped, but the doors took a moment to open.

"Some of them don't like that I'm the one trying to take over this place, and will try to sneak around and poke holes into my plans, so it's also nice to try and scope some of them out."

The doors opened, and Dipper was met with the smell of blood again, but that time it was much, much stronger.

He refrained from gagging, but when he looked out to the room, he could see the blood, oozing and being splattered around.

There were booths along the walls, and some in the middle of the room, all closed off by more yellow curtains, and as they walked to the back of the room, where a smaller room was, Dipper could hear voices.

Some were distorted and inhuman, which belonged to the demons, but some were normal. Oh god, some were begging for death. Some of the demons were tormenting the humans, killing them slowly, or teasing them right before killing them.

Dipper shook as he walked with Bill into the smaller room in the back, where a few, very bloody demons were lounging around, sitting on the floor or on one of the bar stools that were strewn about.

There was one large, black, leather chair in the back of the room, that was unoccupied, and Bill sauntered over to it, completely unphased by the horribly thick smell of blood.

"Sit." Bill was sitting at an angle in the chair, and motioned for Dipper to sit on his lap.

Dipper did so, quickly, so that he didn't upset Bill. Being in a place that he could be easily tortured or killed, made him more eager than usual to make Bill happy.

Bill pulled him onto his chest, so that they were nearly laying on the chair. "Usually I have to talk to a ton of people at once, but with you here, no one's going to bother me." Bill played with Dipper's hair, which made him relax a little.

He examined the demons around the room, and made a note that every demon, when not in their fake human form, was different. There was one with purple skin, three eyes that were neon green, and it had wings that resembled a bat's. Another one had four arms, four eyes, and was covered in scales.

Each one was unique, and each one, was, staring, right at him.

Bill was mindlessly playing with Dipper's hair, and kept his gaze down on his phone, where he seemed to be reading something, and Dipper decided to try and look at something other than the demons staring at him.

"Bill!" A deep voice silenced the room, and all eyes went to a demon who was standing in the doorway. The demon was tall, and had a mess of brown hair on his head. Most of him seemed human, but his skin was as white as paper, and his eyes were a solid black. Behind him was a long tail, with another tuft of brown hair at the end of it.

Bill put his phone away and wrapped an arm around Dipper, almost defensively. "Shawn!" Bill mocked. "What do you want?"

The other demons began to clear the room, almost as if they knew Bill was annoyed, and didn't want to be in the way of it.

Shawn walked up to them, and stood just a few feet away, smiling. "As you know, there's been some talk about the Round that's coming up."

Bill sat up, making Dipper sit up with him, and rested his head on Dipper's shoulder, making him wince. "Yes, and?"

"And, I was wondering how many humans I should gather for it. I've recently come into a nice pool of which I can pluck from, but I need to know how many I should get."

Bill wrapped his arms around Dipper and hummed for a moment while he thought it over. "Eight. Nice even number." He paused for a moment then clicked his tongue. "Why did this need to be asked in person?"

Shawn smiled and his eyes met Dipper's. "I also wanted to meet the human you're so attached to. See why you haven't just eaten him yet."

"I like the way his brain ticks. He's interesting for now." Bill lifted his head from Dipper's shoulder. "Was that all then? Because I don't like talking about things while I'm trying to relax."

The demon shrugged and put his hands into his pocket. "Just thought I'd show the human my face, since I will likely be around him every so often. Also, I brought someone for you. They're right up your alley, and I'm guessing you've been holding out since you have the human around. Want me to bring them in?"

There was a long pause before Bill nodded. "Alright. It may help keep this one alive a little longer."

Shawn snapped his fingers as he left the room, then a guy, about Dipper's age, was pushed into the room, with a blindfold on. "Have fun," Shawn laughed as he closed the door to the room.

"Where am I?" His voice was shaky and he was visibly shaking.

Dipper's eyes widened. "What's he here for?"

Bill slid out from underneath Dipper and smiled. "Well, seeing as you've made it difficult to control my cravings, I figure I'd take up his offer, and partake." Bill changed into his demon form, the blue flames much lower than they had been before, and looked down at Dipper. "I suppose you don't have to watch if you don't want to, but I'm sure this will happen a few other times, so you might as well just watch and get the shock over with now."

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" He pushed himself up against the wall and tried to take the blindfold off.

"Ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Bill sang.

Dipper started to shake as well. He couldn't save this guy. If he told Bill not to, Bill would likely force him to watch, or worse, make him participate somehow. He curled up on the chair and stared in disbelief. What could he do to make this better? Was there anything he could do, or was he going to have to start using those coping skills he's been trying to develop?

The guy stayed pinned to the wall until Bill grabbed his hand and pulled him into the middle of the room. "Please don't scream, I hate when they scream."

"What are you doing? What are you going to do to me?" He began to shout, and looked like he was crying.

Bill forced him to sit on the ground, and kneeled behind him. "This'll only hurt for a minute or two." He clasped his hand over his mouth, then wrapped his other arm around the guy's arms, holding him in place.

He fought Bill, hard, but couldn't get free. His muffled cries got louder, as Bill bit into his throat, taking out a large chunk of flesh.

Dipper watched as the man slowly stopped fighting, and fell limp, as Bill took large bites of his throat. There was blood all over the two of them, and when Bill started to tear into the man's chest, Dipper forced his eyes shut.

He couldn't watch it anymore. His stomach was churning and his head was spinning, but he refused to let himself throw up. There was no way he was interrupting Bill in anyway.

An hour of awful snapping, crunching, and slurping noises passed, and finally silence fell on the room. Dipper had tried to escape to a "happy place", and realized that he was curled up on the chair, shaking violently.

Bill laughed and walked over to Dipper. "You probably don't want to open your eyes just yet, Pine Tree. I don't exactly, 'clean the plate' like some of us do. I'll walk you to the door so that you can keep them closed. Tell 8-Ball to bring the car around, and wait for me out there. I have to clean up."

Dipper nodded and stretched his hand out for Bill to take, but almost flinched back when he felt that Bill's hand was covered in blood.

As soon as he was outside of the door, he opened his eyes and looked at Bill. He was still in his demon form, and was soaked in blood.

"I'll only be a minute, so no fucking around." Bill closed the door and left Dipper in the room filled with demons eating other humans.

He looked down at his bloody hand, and shivered. There was no way he was going to be able to get over this. Another person was just slaughtered in front of him, and he did nothing to stop it.

As he walked past the curtains, he saw that one of them was open, and a red demon with ten, long, thick, tails was leaning on the table, almost as if he was waiting for Bill or Dipper to come out of the room.

"Bill's pet, I presume," it hissed.

Dipper froze and took a step back. He wasn't sure if he could bring himself to speak to another demon.

It laughed and looked behind him, checking to see if Bill was with him. "Seems like you're alone. Care to sit with me?"

Dipper shook his head. "I-I really should go," he squeaked.

One of the demon's tails was suddenly around his waist, and it pulled him closer, then pushed him into the booth. It closed the curtain and wrapped another tail around his mouth and stared at him with all six of it's orange eyes.

"Bill's not exactly a favorite of mine," it growled. The tail re-wrapped itself around Dipper, making sure to get his arms under it so that he couldn't fight back. "He's a real jerk. I'm sure you've noticed." The demon paused as footsteps went past them, and waited until it heard the elevator doors close.

Was Bill going to be mad at Dipper for not even making it to the elevator? If he made it out of this, that was.

Bill fixed his freshly cleaned shirt as he stepped out of the elevator, and stopped when the guard laughed. "Something funny?"

"Finally ate the human, huh?"

Bill tilted his head and crossed his arms. "What do you mean? He just came up here a few minutes ago. Didn't he?"

The guy shook his head. "Haven't seen him since you came in."

Bill let out an annoyed sigh and stepped back into the elevator.

The red demon tightened it's grip on Dipper, and the pressure was beginning to hurt him. "I don't see why he thought bringing in some weak human like you would help anything." The tails tightened even more, and Dipper whimpered at the pain. "Whatever, as soon as I put you out of your misery, he'll move on and hopefully stop parading around the humans as much."

Dipper could feel something in him snap under the pressure, and it was followed by a horrible sharp pain on his right side. Something had definitely just broke.

The yellow curtain flew back suddenly, and Bill was on the other side, his flames reaching the ceiling. "You think, that you can come into my building, and take my human?" His voice was distorted, and almost had an echo to it.

The red demon stood up, but kept its tails on Dipper. "You're just using him to parade around the humans and make yourself look better."

Bill smiled and bared his teeth. "You really aren't afraid of me?" he chuckled.

The demon tightened it's grip on Dipper and crossed its arms.

"Death it is then." Bill grabbed the demon by the throat and forced it down into the booth, then used his other hand to rip into its chest.

"There's more of me you know," it wheezed. "Not all of us think you're to be looked up to. Some of us know you're a giant fucking douche."

Bill pulled his hand back out of its chest, and was holding its heart. "I had just put on a nice clean outfit, and here you are, making me mess it up." His hand closed around it, making it explode into a mush around his fist.

The tails loosened, and Dipper moved away from them as quickly as possible. His arm didn't follow the way he wanted it to though. That must've been what broke.

"Pine Tree, since you're not covered in blood, go get the car ready. And no talking to strangers this time."

Dipper walked as casually to the elevator as possible. He hurt, badly, and he just wanted to get into bed and sleep. Hopefully sleep would stop the images of that guy being torn apart, or would dull the pain in his ribs and arm. He could only hope, though.


	5. Body Problems

He waited in the car for Bill, trying to act as if his arm wasn't hurt. It was really hard though, since he could barely even move it, and it hung on his side like a limp noodle.

Would Bill be mad that he got hurt? What if he just ignored it and let Dipper go without medical attention? No, he wouldn't do that, he needed him to look good for the cameras.

Wait. Bill did need him to look good for the cameras. And it would be weird if Dipper just disappeared. The threats were empty. Bill could only do so much to Dipper before it crossed into ruining their public face.

Another mini victory for Dipper. He could get away with a lot more than he thought.

"Fuck," Bill huffed as he got into the car. "I hate cleaning up more than once a week." He looked over to Dipper and furrowed his brows. "You're not hurt, are you? Like, do I need to take you to a hospital, or can we go home?"

Dipper gulped. Though he knew now that he could get away with more, he still didn't want to push his luck, and wasn't sure if he should tell Bill about his arm. "I think I'm fine." For the first time in the last few days, he spoke loudly and clearly, obviously more confident, even though it hurt to breath in enough to speak.

Bill narrowed his eyes at him. There was no way Bill couldn't tell that Dipper had figured it out. "Alright. Don't think that I'm going to let this go though. You shouldn't speak with other demons without me around. I told you earlier, not everyone likes me, therefore, not everyone likes you."

As fucked up as it was, Dipper was actually a little curious as to what Bill could do to him that wouldn't make it so he had to stay inside all the time.

Dipper immediately went to his room, relieved that Bill allowed him to do so, then laid in his bed carefully. His arm was definitely broken. But what would Bill say or do if he told him? Would he poke at it and hurt Dipper more, or would he be willing to help? Did Bill really blame him for what happened?

He groaned and tried to turn onto his left side, but failed. Not having a right arm was going to suck. Especially if Bill had more sleepless nights planned in the near future.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, making him a little annoyed. Ford needed to chill, or he might blow Dipper's cover.

"Hello," he answered before looking at the screen.

"Pine Tree, you disappeared. Come into the kitchen." It was Bill, and he almost sounded concerned that Dipper had retired to his room so quickly.

The lie went dead, and Dipper let his phone fall onto the bed. Bill clearly wasn't going to wait for a yes or no, since he knew the answer.

Wincing and swearing, Dipper pulled himself up off of the bed, then shuffled to the kitchen.

Bill was leaning against the black marble counter, reading something on his phone again. Dipper assumed it was texts for whatever work Bill did, and cleared his throat to let Bill know that he had entered the room.

His golden eyes slowly shifted up to Dipper, then looked him up and down, keeping an unamused frown on his lips. "I can see the stress in the way you're holding yourself." He used his hips to push away from the counter, and got closer to Dipper. He stared him in the eyes for a long moment before letting out a deep sigh. "Pine Tree, if you're hurt you have to tell me. I can't have you dying on me yet."

Dipper gulped and bit at his bottom lip. He still wasn't sure if he should tell Bill. It did sound like he wanted to take care of it, but who knew what he would do before fixing it.

"Fine," Bill huffed at his silence. "I'll just poke until I find out what's wrong myself." Before waiting for a response, he grabbed Dipper's shoulders and yanked him into a hug, and squeezed him, tensing different muscles in his arms to see which Dipper reacted to most.

Dipper cried out and tried to push away from Bill, but because he could only use his left arm, he failed miserably and was stuck with Bill crushing his bruised ribs and broken arm. "Jesus christ alright!" he yelled. "I think my arm is busted, okay?"

Bill moved away from him and smiled, but his eyes showed that he was annoyed. "See? How hard was that?" He clicked his tongue and hummed for a moment. "Now how to fix it." The demon draped himself over the counter, resting his head on one arm while tapping his long nails on the counter with his other hand. "I can't exactly take you to a hospital without coming up with a convincing lie." He huffed loudly and righted himself. "I suppose I can fix you myself. You believe in magic kid?"

"I'm a twenty four year old man living in a city. Not really."

Bill laughed and shook his head. "I just ate a man in front of you, then you were assaulted by a creature using nothing but its insanely strong tails, and you're telling me that the passed couple of days haven't made you change some of your views on the world?"

He shrugged. "I'm trying really hard to repress everything that's happened since I met you." At that point he almost didn't care what he said to Bill, since he was pretty sure his theory was right. Bill needed him to look happy and healthy for the cameras.

Bill's lips twitched, and he glared at Dipper. A gut wrenching smirk spread on his face, and he made sure to show the tips of his sharp teeth. "I like you better this way. I knew you weren't the lay down and die type, kid." The smirk faded and he crossed his arms. "But," he snapped "don't think that I won't still find other ways to fuck with you. I'm not the type either, so don't think your little bravery thing you're doing is going to help you."

"Can we just fix my arm?" Success. Dipper could handle psychological pain much better than physical pain. At least, he hoped.

He raised an eyebrow at him and pursed his lips. "I think I made the right decision by not eating you."

Dipper watched as the demon got a glass from the cherrywood cabinet, then used his index finger to slice open his palm over the glass.

It filled with blood quickly, as Bill seemed to be forcing it out as much as he could, then when it was full, he slid it over to Dipper and licked his hand clean.

"Drink it."

"W-what? Why?" Was this Bill's new form of punishment? Why on Earth Dipper even thought about doing it in the first split second, he didn't know, but he stared Bill down and didn't reach for the glass.

Bill adjusted the top button of his white shirt while looking at Dipper, staying silent for a moment. "Do you want the honest awful answer, or should I just tell you it'll fix your arm?"

Dipper shifted his weight and stared down at the glass. It almost looked purple rather than red, and it even smelled different. He couldn't quite place what it smelled like, but it set his nose off the same way normal blood did. "What's the awful answer?" He figured he should ask. Better to know all that he can while the demon was willing to tell him.

"Demon blood, especially from someone as powerful as myself, will make your body so much stronger. In fact, it's almost like a steroid for humans. And, just like steroids, it has massive side effects. Depending on how much you consume, your way of thinking will start becoming like mine." Bill lightly flicked the glass, making a ping sound. He smiled at the noise and looked back up at Dipper. "It'll also create a kind of bond between us. I know you just, love me, so it'll be fun feeling what the other feels."

"So far I'd rather just have the broken arm." Dipper met his stare and for the first time, he really looked at the demon's eyes, since he had been too afraid to do it before.

They were so golden and vibrant, he was shocked he had never heard anything about them. There were small flakes of reds and blues in them too, and the more he looked at them, the more he felt like he probably looked like an idiot, and should stop.

Bill smiled and rolled his eyes. "Well, there is one more thing it'll do. Something that you might like."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" It felt good, being himself. The quiet, scared of Bill, person he was trying to be at first was starting to irk him. Not that he wasn't still afraid of Bill, because he was terribly so, it just felt nice to speak rather than flinch.

Bill picked up the glass and offered it to him. "You can use magic. Only a little, but I can teach you. If you're really good, and keep holding your chin up. Constantly having you whimper is a little annoying. Besides, this whole thing will make our relationship feel more natural, and look good to the press." Bill lightly swirled the blood around the the glass and wiggled his eyebrows at him. "If the press starts seeing our relationship fall apart, at all, then you will be eaten, since I will no longer need you."

"Why do you want them to think we're in a relationship so badly?" Dipper grabbed the glass from Bill and set it back down on the counter so that he would stop wiggling it in his face. God it felt good to stand up for himself a little bit. He felt he deserved to do at least that much after what Bill had made go through in just a couple of days.

"I need to look like I'm not some shut-in, heartless billionaire who doesn't give a shit. You know how popular I became when I started to give money to charities? I need people to want me to stay rich and powerful. If they see that I'm loving and can give time to others, they'll think I'm out to help this shitty world."

Dipper had no idea that Bill gave to charities. What the fuck. Bill was using something good for evil, that wasn't surprising, but the fact that he was even doing the good in the first place hit Dipper's mind in a funny way. He huffed and looked down at the glass.

There was so much he still had to figure out. Like how he was even going to stop Bill from doing the horrible things he had planned, or how he was going to keep up his lie long enough to make it until he found Bill's weakness. But the one thing he did know, was that being physically stronger through out it, would be nice. . . Fuck it. Fuck it, fuck it.

He took the glass in his good hand, and stared down at it for a moment, It was still really warm, and its color was starting to grow darker. With a deep breath, he lifted it to his lips and chugged it.

Chills went through his entire body, and as he gulped, he tried not to gag and throw it all back up. As fucked up as it was, the only thing actually grossing him out was the thought about it being blood. It had a strangely sweet flavor to it, and the smell match with the flavor well.

"Fuck," he huffed as he set the empty glass down. It was making his stomach upset, and he had to concentrate on not throwing it all back up.

Bill laughed and grabbed the glass, rinsing it out in the sink. "Nice! I didn't expect you to do it, honestly." The glass clean, he set it off to the side and smiled back at Dipper. "Once you start warming up to me a little more, it'll make our interactions to the public seem less robotic."

"Are you really planning on bringing down the entire human race?" Dipper eased himself over to the table, and sat down in the nicely cushioned chair.

"You bet your ass I am. This place is fucking snooze-ville. Once I have my claws dug deeply enough, and have raised enough demons to help me do so, I'll turn around and fucking decimate this place. Whoever survives will be kept as slaves or used as livestock."

Dipper shook his head and laughed. He felt a little loopy, and his head was starting to feel like someone was tapping on his brain. "We're pretty resilient, you know. It'll be hard to do."

Bill stood behind him and played with his hair. Something that the demon seemed to like, and Dipper didn't mind. "There's not many things that I can't do, Pine Tree. If I want something badly enough, then I will have it. I'm a spoiled brat like that."

"Spoiled brat is right," he chuckled. The room became a little blurry, and Dipper had to blink a few times to try and right his vision. "Wha's makin' me so sick?" he mumbled.

"It's trying to heal your arm right now, so it's taking whatever it can from your other body parts to fix it. Extra blood, tissue, bone; all of that fun stuff."

A loud thud stopped Bill in his tracks and he slowly looked down at Dipper, he had let his head fall onto the table.

"You okay there bud?" he chuckled.

Dipper nodded but kept his stare on the table. There was some pretty neat looking knots in the black painted wood. And it was so smooth to touch, he wanted to mash his face on it. Wait, he already had. He laughed a little and smiled. It was cold to the touch, but it felt nice, since his skin seemed to be super hot.

Bill rolled his eyes. "Let's go lock you in your room to sleep this off."

He laughed at Bill's ability to pick Dipper up and carry him, and as they walked, he poked at Bill's face.

"I will bite your finger off, stop it," he growled.

"I bet you won't," Dipper sang.

Bill roughly dropped him onto his bed, then walked out in a huff, clearly annoyed that Dipper was letting the blood go straight to his head.

Man was that bed soft. Ooh, it was so cool to the touch too. Was he still in his clothes? Why with the clothes?

There. He was pretty sure he was naked now. He laid on the bed and snuggled into it, hoping to get some sleep.

Voices that he hadn't heard before startled Dipper awake, and he looked around to see where he was.

Well, he was in the bathtub, that was strange. His shirt was around his neck and his pants were undone, but not off. "What the fuck." He tried to stand up, but his head pounded and he had to sit back down.

After taking a few deep breaths, he forced himself to stand up. He kept his eyes shut, since the world would spin when they were open, and made his way to his closet so that he could put new clothes on.

He felt like he should probably shower first, or try to clean himself up a little since he was kind of clammy, but decided against it and just got dressed.

Where was his phone? He hoped it was on the bed, or somewhere safe, and not in the toilet or somewhere stupid like that.

Of course, after an hour or so of searching, he realized it was in the pocket of the jeans he was wearing the night before. He smacked himself on the forehead, which was stupid because ow, then sat on his bed in a huff. So far all that blood did was make him feel sick and do stupid shit.

Wait, his arm. He wiggled it around and found that it felt perfectly fine, if not better. "Whoa."

The door opened and Bill walked over to him quickly, looking like he was ready to kill something, or more likely someone.

"If anyone talks to you, we were in my lounge all night, alright? Say nothing of the basement, and just try not to fucking incriminate yourself."

"What, why? What's going on?" Dipper almost scoffed at him. Even though he wasn't a very good detective, he was still a detective, and knew exactly what not to say if questioned. Of course, Bill didn't know that, but Dipper still found it funny.

Bill crossed his arms over his green vest that popped from the white shirt underneath it, staring down at Dipper as if he were making sure he looked a certain way. "Some fucking idiot managed to leave what was left of a body outside of one of my clubs. I don't know if it was one of my people or not, but I do know that cops will likely want to talk to me, and possibly you as well. Have you been around cops before?"

Dipper was unable to hide his smile, and nodded. "I know how deal with cops." His smile dropped when he realized that being around cops might not be a good thing. He was never the one that would work with the police, but he would have to really watch out for anything that might blow his cover.

"Good." Bill tapped Dipper's forehead with his index finger and smiled, making sure to show his teeth. "Fuck this up and all bets are off, Pine Tree. You do not want to cross me here. I'm just starting to like you, and you do not want me to turn on you. Or any family, you may have."

Dipper nodded. There was no way he could go in there and start spouting stuff about demons anyway, everyone would just think he was insane. "Right."

"I suppose this outfit is fine," he said as he fixed a button on Dipper's shirt. "Just remember, the blood is going to start messing with your head a bit. If you start to feel sick and you're around people, excuse yourself and act like you're going to throw up. Trust me, you'll know why if it happens."

"It's not like they're going to hold us," Dipper scoffed. "They don't have anything pinning it directly to you, especially if it wasn't at the club we were at last night. They'll likely just ask if they can pull security footage of where the body was left, and the ways in and out so they can see who was even there. As long as no one soaked in blood comes out, you and your demon friends will be good."

Bill raised an eyebrow at him. "I know, I figured as much. I just also figured that since it was the club we were at, they'll want to talk to us."

He nodded slowly. Unless it was the guy Bill ate, they had nothing to hold either of them. "Well, I still doubt they'll hold us at all. There's nothing but us walking in and out. Unless you keep cameras in the basement."

"I do," Bill chimed. He lifted his hand to Dipper's chin and stared at his eyes. "Your pupils are dilated. How's your head?"

"Mm. Hurts. I still feel a little loopy." He ran his hand through his hair and broke his eye contact with Bill.

Bill let out a loud laugh and wrapped an arm around Dipper's hips while using his other hand to wipe his hair away from his forehead. "That a tattoo?"

"No, birthmark."

Bill ran his thumb over it and had a goofy smile on his face. "That's interesting. I guess we don't really know each other very well," he laughed.

"No, no we don't." Dipper moved back a little and tried to get out of Bill's grasp.

He only pulled tighter and his smile went from goofy to deadly. "Of course, secrets are always fun, aren't they, Pine Tree?"

A lump formed in his throat and he nodded. "They can be." What, did Bill know? If he did, then why would he just play along? Dipper knew he was a giant screw up, and wouldn't be surprised if his cover was already blown, but god if Bill would just tell him it would make his life, harder, but also easier.

"Anyway," Bill said as he moved away. "There's a lot I need to do to try and make this blow over, or at least work in my favor. Care to follow me? Maybe we'll learn more about each other if we work together. Seeing as you're stuck with me until I decide to eat you."

Dipper nodded. Hell, he was already on this boat of crazy, might as well ride it until he either died or stopped Bill. Of course he was hoping for the stop Bill part, but lord knows he wasn't very good at life, so he very easily could end up dead. "I'll go. But don't think that just because I'm talking now you'll learn more about me."

Bill turned on his heels and walked to the door, pausing before he got into the hall. "I've gotten you to loosen up in more ways than one, Pine Tree. By this time two weeks from now, I'll know everything about you."

"Oh yeah?" Dipper challenged.

There was a pause, and Bill tapped his foot. "You don't believe me?"

Dipper shrugged. "I just don't know what's going to happen. These passed few days have been so crazy that I can't even guess anymore. All I know is that you're a demon who thinks it's funny when you hurt me."

"That much is true!" Bill turned and looked at Dipper through the corner of his eye. "Anyway, enough of this banter. Go back to being my cute, quiet, shy, boyfriend for the public. Don't think I'll allow this kind of lip all the time."

"Yes sir," he said sarcastically. He moved passed Bill and began to walk to the front door. He could play along. He knew he could now. Bill was being nicer, so it seemed anyway, and he figured that either way this turned out, he could go down swinging.

Also, Bill had given him the exact answer he wanted. There were cameras in that basement. If he could get a hold of just one nights worth, and get them to Ford, that would be Bill's weakness. Ford would eventually believe it, and he was a brilliant man, so he would be able to find a way to bring down Bill with that proof. He had a way out, so long as he got those tapes. He could bring down Bill.

"You comin'?" Dipper teased back at him.

"I will be if you keep teasing me like that," Bill snapped with a devilish grin on his face.

 _ **AN: Alright, so I've been in this weird slump. Sorry if it ain't perfect :l May go back and edit later. Again, sorry about the whole code thing that keeps happening. I'm not very good at doing things ( '*~*)**_


	6. Staying Under

The cops had asked for exactly what Dipper thought they would. All the surveillance Bill was able to hand over, and they had been told to come in for some questioning in the next few days, just to see what they would say about that night.

"Ay," Bill mumbled. They were lying in his large bed, Dipper half asleep and as far away from the demon as he could be, and Bill playing idly with his cell phone.

"Mm?" Dipper rolled over to face Bill, who thankfully just wanted to relax in the room, and not try to have more of the "fun" that he spoke of. At least, for now relaxing was all he wanted to do. Why he needed him to be in the room, Dipper didn't know, but he just went with it.

Bill let his cell phone fall from his hands and stretched. "You ready to go? We have to head out in a minute." His arm found Dipper's chest, and he yanked him closer.

Dipper let out a noise of disapproval, but didn't move away from him. "Yeah I'm good."

The demon took in a deep breath through his nose, then released it from his mouth. "It's stupid that I haven't eaten you yet, Pine Tree. You've got something I crave though, other than your flesh."

He shuddered at the comment and pushed himself back a little. He was wide awake then, and was ready to go play pretend for the cops. "What's that?"

"You're interesting," Bill said without missing a beat. "I can see the way your mind works through your eyes, and it's like a neatly wound clock, ticking away. You don't need to say much for me to see that your mind is working. Not many people, demon or human, have that."

"Oh." Dipper moved away from Bill, fighting to stand up and not seem tired.

He chuckled and stood up as well, fixing his yellow V-neck. "See? Just then. You only make one sound and I can see you're thinking of a million things right now." He sauntered over to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Share one of those things with me?"

Dipper shifted his weight away from Bill, and sighed. "You're creepy. There."

"That I am! Now go get into the. . ." he paused for a moment and tapped on Dipper shoulder "red car. I think red will be good, don't you?" Bill met his stare and seemed to be already listening to Dipper's response before it even left his lips.

Could he read minds or something? If so then what the fuck, why hasn't he said? Why was he playing with Dipper like this? "Sure." He moved away from Bill and made his way out to the car without looking to see if Bill had followed.

There was nothing more Dipper hated than being around asshole cops. Not all of them were bad of course, but the ones that were made being there unbarable.

As they walked in, they were met with a short woman who had bright orange hair tied into a bun, and she was wearing red-framed glasses. Her skin was a caramel color, and her eyes were a bright brown. "Hey Mr. Cipher!"

Though not nearly as high pitched, Dipper recognized that voice. It was the demon, Filly was her name, that Bill had showed him. She was surprisingly cute, and looked so non-threatening with her round face and hipster-esc glasses.

"Good afternoon Filly. How's my girl?" Bill smiled and shook her hand, acting way more charming than Dipper had ever seen him.

"I'm great! Despite having to do this clean up. Maybe shoulda rethought the lawyah thing!" She had a slight Jersey accent, that came through the more she spoke, and Dipper almost smiled at it.

There was no way this petite, cute, lady was the thing he saw eating a person.

"Danny, you know Filly. She's my lawyer," Bill smiled. "I was told to bring one by a certain PI that claimed he was going to, 'nail me to the wall with this'."

Oh shit. Ford was the only PI he knew of that would be that direct with Bill. Why was he getting so antsy in taking Bill out? He was letting it get in the way, and it kind of pissed Dipper off.

Filly reached out her hand and smiled as Dipper shook it. "Nice to see you again! They're going to take you both into separate rooms," she quieted her voice before continuing "so I hope you've talked this over."

They had. Bill told him to play dumb, and say that he wasn't very involved in any of Bill's work, and that they went to the club that night to drink and meet up with a few friends. Which was kind of, in a really weird way, true.

"We're fine. Filly you'll be coming in with me, and he'll go alone. Pine Tree can handle himself."

Filly opened her mouth to protest, but saw Bill's stare and nodded. "Okay."

They were waiting in a lobby-like area, and Bill tried his best to do couple-like things with Dipper, making sure the cops saw the flirting.

"Hey, kid, you're first." One of the cops motioned at Dipper to follow him, and he did, a little concerned that they had grabbed him first. They should have talked to Bill first, and Dipper knew that Bill would know that.

He sat quietly and waited for someone to join him in the question tank, occasionally humming a random song that would pop into his head.

It seemed like an eternity before the door opened, and when he saw who it was, his heart fell.

"Ford?" he nearly gasped. He thought he could keep his cool. He thought he had worked through wanting to cry at what he had seen. But his eyes started to water, and he felt a lump form in his throat. Family. After those horrible past few days, finally a friendly face.

He shut the door and eyed the room as if he was double checking to make sure that they were alone. "Are you okay? How're things?"

Dipper remembered his phone before he spoke, and took it from his pocket. He pried the back of it off and took the battery out. That way if Bill did have some sort of bug in it, it wouldn't record what he was saying.

He had to take a deep breath before speaking. "I'm fine." There was no way he could start sobbing and spouting off about demons. He would look insane.

Ford nodded and sat in the chair in front of him. "I let just the chief know what's going on. He said I could talk to you before I talk to Cipher. Know anything about this body? I've been trying really hard to connect it with the missing people we're working on."

No, no, no, no. Ford couldn't talk to Bill. They would definitely clash, and Dipper didn't want Bill to add Ford to any kind of hit list. "So far I haven't seen anything on either end. Bill's just a stuck up billionaire."

He thinned his lips and leaned back in his chair. "One that you're, dating?"

Hearing it come from Ford like that almost made Dipper want to barf. "Well, no, but yes, I mean," he stammered for a moment before taking a deep breath. "I had to get as close as I could to him, and when I accidentally ran into him at the club, and he said he was interested, I figured that would be the best way to see what's going on."

"So I take it that you'd like to stay under then?"

"Yes," he said confidently. He realized he hadn't looked Ford in the eyes once since he entered the room, and figured that he couldn't bring himself to, because he was still fighting back some tears. "How's Mabel, and everyone at the office been?" he whispered.

"She misses you," Ford said softly. "Her boutique is doing well, of course, but she asks about you constantly. As for the office, well, we've been stuck. We were hoping you had something we could use to further our investigation."

Dipper swallowed hard and looked down at his hands. Oh, he had plenty. Search the basements, search all Bill's buildings, search his affiliate's basements. If anything, look at his damn shoulders and see that Bill was anything but human. But, he wasn't ready for all of that yet. No, he had to plan more before that chaos was set off. "Sorry," he shrugged.

If he were forced to say much more, he might've snapped eventually, but Ford trusted him, and didn't think he need to pry any further for information.

"What's with taking your phone apart?" Ford leaned forward and made a hand gesture to Dipper's phone pieces lying on the table.

"Well, uh, never can be too careful, right? I've lost sight with this thing at least four or five times, completely on accident of course, so I just want to be sure."

Ford tried multiple times to meet his eyes, but saw that Dipper was avoiding it. Something wasn't right, but Dipper wasn't about to tell him what. He would just have to trust that he knew what he was doing, and that Dipper had his reasons for keeping secrets for now. "Listen, I trust you. But, I worry still. Maybe sending a family member wasn't exactly the best idea, but I know that you're someone I can trust, and I know you're smart enough to do this. Just, be careful, okay?"

Dipper nodded and kept his head down. "Don't let Bill try to change the subject to me. Keep the conversation away from specific people. If he asks if you have family or something, be as general as possible and reign the conversation back to the body."

A little surprised at Dipper's sudden blurb, Ford stared back at him for a moment before nodding. "Of course. You think he is suspicious of you, or might try to take things personally towards me, for saying anything to him at all?"

He shook his head. "I don't know much about Bill. I just know it's probably not a good idea to be on his bad side. He's a powerful man."

"Mmhmm. Right then." Ford stood up and made his way next to Dipper. "How about a hug before I go?"

Dipper hesitated before standing up and opening his arms.

Ford noticed right away that Dipper was trembling, and that he flinch a bit at the contact. There was something wrong with him, that was for sure. And he was going to get anything he could from Bill to find out what.

"Well, well, well, Stanford Pines, greatest PI this side of the pyramids," Bill laughed as Ford entered the room.

He made eye contact with Bill as he sat down in front of him. "Your boyfriend seems a little skittish. Poor kid looked like he'd seen a ghost."

Bill smirked at the man and leaned back in his chair. "He suffers from anxiety. Doesn't like talk too much."

Ford nodded and took in a deep breath. "So, you two were at your club last night. What were you doing?"

"Having a few drinks with friends, like usual." The demon couldn't help but hold back a smile as he thought about ways to poke at the man. "Then after, Danny and I went back to my house and uh, 'settled in for the night'."

If Ford were a weaker man, he would have punched Bill in the face right then, but he kept his cool. If Dipper wanted to stay under, Ford would keep things professional. "I see. Did you see anyone suspicious, or someone who usually wasn't at the club?"

"That club is set aside for certain members only. If someone who wasn't a member got in, I would know about it. No one unfamiliar was inside that building."

He narrowed his eyes at the blond, and rested his elbows on the table. "So, when we review the security footage, everyone should be showing some sort of badge, or ID, or something, right?"

"All of the security knows every face of my members. They would not let anyone in that wasn't supposed to be there." Bill glanced at his watch, wiggling his wrist a little to straighten it out.

"Somewhere to be?" Ford raised an eyebrow at him. The man looked so smug. Dipper was right about him being stuck up. He wondered how he could put up with him, and why on Earth he would want to stay under.

"Just bored. I don't know anything about this body, other than the sick freak left it behind my club. I've given the tapes to the police, I can tell you my entire night in detail, and my boyfriend probably really wants to go home right now."

There was a pause, both staring at each other with glares that could kill, and eventually Ford sighed. "Has there ever been any drug use in your club that you've been aware of?"

"Not that I have ever been aware of, no. We have alcohol, of course, but no drugs." Bill's eyes softened and he smiled. "There's even a drink limit for every guest, depending on their ability to handle it. I like to keep things orderly, Mr. Pines."

Ford's eye twitched at the man's tone, but he refrained from snapping at him. "Well then, Mr. Cipher, the police and I will be in contact with you after reviewing the security footage. Since there was a camera in the area of the body, we'll try to get a clear shot of the person who did it, then let you see if it's someone you know." He stood up and fixed his black trench coat, then nodded to the man and his lawyer. "You're free to go. I'll go get your boyfriend for you."

As soon as Ford left the room, Dipper took several deep breaths, trying to hold back some tears. God, how he wished he could talk to someone about what was happening. Not that anyone would believe him, but venting to someone sounded god like.

Taking in another deep breath, he realized he had made himself light headed and he groaned. The dizziness from the night before came rushing back and his head started to pound. What was happening? Was he going to go on another horrible trip?

"You okay kid?" An officer peaked their head into the room and saw the Dipper was breathing quickly and had his face mashed into his palms.

Dipper shook his head and tried to mumble that he needed to puke. "A-uhm, uh, gonn- uh," he breathed.

"Oh!" The cop rushed out to grab a trash can and hurriedly placed it next to Dipper.

He had only eaten a light lunch that day, right before Bill made him lay in his room with him, and he was almost regretting not eating more, since once his stomach was empty, he just dry heaved for a good five minutes.

Once he was relaxed a bit more, the cop patted him on the back and moved the trash can away. "You okay? Need some water?"

"Nah, I just want to sleep." He stood up and wobbled as he pointed to the door. "C-can I go?"

The cop opened the door and disappeared behind it for a moment, before returning and nodding.

Dipper collected his cellphone and mashed all the pieces back together as well as he could before just jamming it into his pocket and leaving.

"Oh, hun, you look pale," Bill said as he met Dipper in the hall. He cupped Dipper's cheeks with both hands and looked him in the eye. "It's okay, we can go home now. I know being in stressful situations isn't your thing."

Dipper nodded lazily and tried to avoid letting his eyes flicker to Ford, who seemed really disgruntled about Bill touching Dipper.

"We'll be in touch," Ford snapped before he turned away.

Bill rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around Dipper's waist, pulling him along and making a bit of a show about kissing his cheek and making sure he was okay.

They parted ways with Filly, who was driving her own insanely nice, and expensive car.

Bill was quiet on their way back to the mansion. He seemed like he was deep in thought, and didn't look like he wanted to be bothered by Dipper speaking, so Dipper kept his mouth shut.

When they finally got into the house, Dipper figured he could just go to his room, but Bill grabbed his hand and started to pull him along to his room.

"W-where are we going?" He played dumb in hopes Bill would at least explain what they were going to do in his room.

Bill smiled back at him, looking like he was genuinely pleased with something. "We're going to celebrate. I just thought of the best way to make this mess benefit me."

"Oh? How?" Dipper tried to slow their pace, but Bill looked excited and tugged at him even more.

"Well, it'll be a little tricky, and I'll need some luck, but it should work. And tomorrow we're going to set it all in motion. I just need a few more dead bodies."

 _ **AN: Here's another smut interlude for those who want it. Again, no real plot to it, so it's fine to skip it.**_

 _ **Bloodbathsmut on Tumblr is where it'll be at. Sorry, I can't do hyper links on here to directly send you to it ( 'o~o)**_


	7. Surveillance

Dipper groaned at his headache, that started right as he woke up. The morning light felt like daggers to his eyes and he had to blink a few times before he could bring himself to keep them open.

He felt like he desperately needed to be cleaned, so he threw all of his clothes off and went into the personal bathroom he had, which he was so thankful for, and got ready to take a nice long shower. Bill had made it sound like that day was going to be a long one, so it would be nice to be clean for it.

The bathroom had everything Dipper needed when he was given the room, -toothbrush, toothpaste, a razor, shampoo and conditioner, and just general toiletries that were nice to have- so he had an easy time getting a routine down of brushing his teeth before showering.

A slight fuzz had grown on his face, and he wondered for a moment if he should shave, but didn't think he would have the time to. His shower was already going to take up enough time, and he wasn't sure if Bill wanted to have an early start or not.

After scrubbing himself clean, he got out and dried off quickly so that he could get dressed and ready for whatever Bill's horrible plan was.

There was a bottle of an expensive cologne on the desk, and the door was left open a tiny bit, so he was assuming Bill had come in while he was showering.

He sniffed it a little, and found that it smelled as if someone taken fall itself and put it into a bottle, then added the smell of the air after it rains. Once he was dressed, he was happy to lightly apply it to himself before heading out to the kitchen.

Bill barely glanced up at him, and focused more on his cell phone, taking bites of a pastry while he texted someone.

"Morning." Dipper said that out of habit, and felt weird immediately after it left his mouth.

"It is in fact the morning time. Great observation skills kid," Bill laughed.

Dipper rolled his eyes and sat in the chair in front of him. "You know what the fuck I meant."

Bill finally looked up from his phone and gave Dipper a quizzical look. "Someone's grumpy this morning. Didn't like my gift?"

He sighed and rested his head on his hand. "I just feel sick. Your blood must be bad or something. And no, the cologne smelled nice."

Finishing off his pastry, Bill set his cell phone aside and stared at Dipper. It vibrated a few times, but Bill ignored it and scanned Dipper's face. "Have you puked yet?"

"At the police station. After that PI left the room I got dizzy and lost my stomach. Is it supposed to keep making me sick?"

Bill got up from his chair and came up behind Dipper. He put a hand to Dipper's forehead and held it there for a moment. "You're usually supposed to be pukey, at least for a few days, but the fever thing is a bit odd."

"Odd how?" Dipper moved away from Bill's hand and looked up at him.

"Well," Bill looked away from him and walked back over to his phone "I may have given you a bit much. If the fever isn't gone by tomorrow, then you'll probably start to have crippling headache and your muscles will ache for no reason for the next week or so."

"Seriously?" Dipper snapped.

Bill let out a laugh and tapped his fingers on the table. "But, hey, if it does go away, then you'll be able to start using magic right away." The demon looked at him with a horrible grin and looked at his phone, which had vibrated a few times while they spoke. "Have you had any, interesting, thoughts yet?"

"What do you mean?" Dipper watched Bill's hand as he unlocked the phone and tapped out a quick reply to whomever was texting him.

"I mean, have you had any thoughts that have made you consider just ending yourself so that you don't have to deal with them anymore? 'Cause you're not allowed to kill yourself. It would be too messy and I would find some way to fuck your soul over if you did. Maybe I'd keep it in a little locket and wear it everywhere."

"Bill, what the fuck." Dipper stood up, uncomfortable with the demons relaxed way he spoke about Dipper committing suicide.

He laughed again and shook his head. "I'm fucking with you. The thoughts will come though. They won't be nearly as bad as I just joked about, since you seem pretty strong willed, but I just figure that I would warn you."

Dipper rolled his eyes. "What the fuck are we supposed to do again today? You said you needed more bodies. What for?"

"Think of it this way; how great would I look if I helped catch a serial killer?" Bill locked his phone again and put it into his pocket. He wrapped an arm around Dipper's shoulders and pulled him in as close as he could. "Catch the real culprit, if it's a human, use him, and if it's a demon, then kill it, and find a human to blame. All while sprinkling bodies throughout the city to make him seem like a giant menace, that Bill Cipher will stop at nothing to help the police catch, because I love this city."

There he went again, using something good to do evil. Dipper ducked away from him and shook his head. "Did the security footage show you who it was? If not, how are we going to catch whoever did it?"

"You really need to stop asking stupid questions, Pine Tree." Bill pulled the ring of car keys from his pocket and took the blue one off. "Your job for today is to take this car, and go back to where ever you were staying before, and start the whole moving out process. Close up your old life. I'll be running around taking care of some other business." He plopped the key onto the table and took out his wallet, also dropping one of his credit cards onto the table. "Spend whatever you need to get it all done. I want people to see and know that you're moving in with me, and that I'm taking care of you."

Dipper nodded and stared down at the key. "You trust me to do all that?"

Bill glared at him and shrugged. "Should I not? Do you need a babysitter? I can have 8-Ball follow you around. Oh, you haven't met Keyhole yet. I'm sure he'd love to hang around a human all day."

"Alright, I get your point," Dipper snapped. "I'll go do what I need to do. Any time I need to be back by?"

"Let's say. . . six PM tonight. Call me if you need to be later for some reason. I'll make dinner reservations for us at a nice place if you're done by then." Bill ruffled his hair as he walked by him and paused before he left the kitchen. "By the way, what did you do for work before I took you in?"

"Well, seeing as I just moved here, I was supposed to start at a place doing some IT work, but you 'took me in' the day before I was supposed to go in. They probably figured I just didn't want it anymore." He celebrated a little in his head, since he spit out the lie flawlessly, and waited for Bill to respond.

He chuckled lightly and shook his head. "Great timing. The universe wanted us to meet kid." He hummed a song as he left, and Dipper stared after him for a moment before looking down at the key and the card.

Closing up his "old life" wouldn't be hard in the least bit. All he would need to do is go to the apartment set up for him, grab the few personal belongings, then tell the person in the main lobby the codeword for him being done with it. Of course, he would need to tell Ford as well, so that he could close it up on his side, but it would take him an hour at most to get it all done.

He looked at his phone to check the time, and saw that it was only eleven in the morning. He had a lot of free time on his hands.

Dipper had only stayed in that apartment for one night before Bill came into the picture, so really a lot of his personal stuff hadn't even been removed from the one backpack he had brought with him, making it easy to toss it all back together.

He had left his cell phone in the car, since he didn't want to have to take the battery out again, and as soon as he gathered his things, he went down to the reception desk for the building and began the bit of dialogue he had to say to let them know he was done there.

"Nice day today," he smiled.

The thin lady behind the desk smiled back at him and nodded. "Weather's been awful nice."

He nodded and casually put the key on the counter, sliding it forward a little. "Too bad the wind's been picking up. New season is rolling in fast. Makes me want to go somewhere warmer."

Her smile faded a little and she nodded. "I hope you have a nice trip, if you do go."

"Already bought the tickets," he chuckled.

She took the key and put it next to her keyboard. "Well, enjoy the warm weather in, wherever you're going."

With a nod, he turned and left. That was easy. Now for telling Ford.

"Hey, Carson, how's your day been? Feels like it's been a little while." He spoke while he drove, not something he usually would do, especially in a car that had so much power to it, but he need Ford to meet up with him as soon as possible, so he figured he'd call right away.

"It's been alright. What's up?"

"Well, as you know, Bill and I have been pretty close lately, and I know it's fast, but I'm moving in with him, and I need to drop a few things off with you today. Can I come by your place really quickly, or should we meet somewhere?"

"I'm at a friend's place right now, but if it's not much, then you're welcome to come put it in my car."

"Sounds, good. What's the address?"

Ford gave him the address of an apartment building a few blocks over, that right in between the office and the apartment, and it was in a quieter neighborhood, giving them some privacy.

"Alright be there in a sec." He put the phone on the passenger seat and focused back on driving.

He stopped at a red light, and watched as a few people crossed the road.

 _Wouldn't it be interesting if you ran them over? Their guts would squish out of them and get everywhere. What a mess!_

"What the fuck?" Dipper shook his head. That thought came out of nowhere. He was just thinking about how nice it was to actually drive this beast of a car, not what it would be like to hit people with it.

Were those the thoughts Bill was talking about? He did say Dipper would think more like he did, but were they really that intrusive and _loud_?

He shuddered and made sure everyone was out of the way before going at the green light. That would be disturbing. Not impossible to deal with, but definitely disturbing.

Ford was wearing street clothes and a baseball cap, trying to seem as normal as possible. He was waiting next to his car and smiled when he saw the blue car park in front of his.

"Nice car." He sounded really un-amused and was giving Dipper a worried look. "Everything okay?"

Dipper handed him the backpack and nodded. "Yes. I can't stay though. If people see us together it could be bad." He looked around a little to see if anyone was around, and saw that there were only a few people, doing normal, everyday things. "This has my ID and gun, and all of the other stuff I really can't have with me. I may be dropping something else off later, but I don't know yet. Keep your phone on."

Ford nodded. "So you're moving in with him? Does he really seem that. . . enthralled with you? He just doesn't seem like the type."

"He is and he isn't. It's complicated. Anyway, I gotta go." He got back into the car without waiting for any other response, and began driving to the Blue Glow.

There were cameras he could get footage from, and he had the free time. No one would be there, he took a few of his break-in tools with him, and he was going to find that footage.

When he arrived, he saw that he had been right about nobody being there, and let out a sigh of relief. Bill's henchmen were terrifying.

He couldn't park right out front, and picking the lock on the front door was not very stealthy, so he parked a little ways down the street, and walked as casually as he could to the back exit he had noticed in the hallway.

A fire escape lead up to the door, and at the top, he could see a camera, pointed at the door. He swore under his breath and tried to think of what he could do to avoid it.

Climbing most of the way up the escape, he stopped just before the top level and looked out to the street. There wasn't anyone nearby, so he could get away with doing some acrobatics. He carefully got himself on the outside of the stairs, and hoisted himself up to the next level. There was a power cord plugged into the camera, and he smiled at it. Easy. He reached up and grabbed the base of it between his second knuckles so that he didn't leave any fingerprints..

The little red light in the back died down, and just to be safe, he used the back of his wrist to knock the camera upwards enough that it could no longer see the door.

Picking the lock was easy, and he used his shirt to open the knob.

There he was again, staring down the hallway, trying to decide which door to go down. First thing first though, there was another camera just inside, so he did his best to stay out of its view before jumping up and jamming it upwards.

This was kind of exciting. He felt like an honest to god detective, doing real sleuthing. The strength the demon blood had given him was what helped him climb the side of the escape, and that alone gave him a rush of adrenaline. What else could he do with the demon blood running through his system?

He shook his head and focused. Bill's lounge was a logical place for the footage to be. No one went in there besides he and his bodyguard, and that giant TV would be perfect for reviewing videos.

That lock wasn't hard to pick either, and Dipper chuckled at his skills. Ford's brother, Stan, had taught him well.

The room was just as terrifying as before, and even colder than it had been the night he met Bill. Would there be a camera in this room too? He didn't remember seeing one. He would just have to try and delete that one's footage when he found the main camera controls.

He walked over to the TV and tried to follow what cords he could see. None of them lead anywhere, but there was a hollow part in the wall that when pushed on, opened and revealed a computer. That, of course was password protected.

"Shit," Dipper whispered. He hadn't really ever hacked anything before, and had no idea where to start with guessing passwords. What kind of password would a powerful demon use anyway? Dipper chuckled as he entered in, "BillCipher", and nearly cried when it actually logged in. "You vain bastard," he laughed.

This was easy. Actually, too easy. There had to be more than this. He took a deep breath and just continued to get his flash drive from his pocket, plugging it into the computer.

He had to sift through quite a few files before he managed to find the one with the basement cameras. All of the files were only named by date, so he picked a few random ones and stuck them onto the flash drive. There was a camera in that room, and luckily he knew enough about computers to get into its controls, wipe its memory for the past twenty-four hours, then make it restart so he had time to get out.

There would only be a short window though, since it was a nice camera, and wouldn't take very long to reboot, so he tried his best to put everything back as it was, wiping things off with his shirt, then snagging the flash drive and rushing out the door, as quickly as possible. He made sure to lock it behind himself, and did the same with the exit door.

Man, his heart was pounding. It felt really nice to have that much good adrenaline rushing through his head. He felt like nothing in the world could stop him right then.

Driving that powerful car right afterwards felt amazing too, and it made Dipper smile like an idiot. He had a foot up on Bill. He had proof of the demons. There might actually be a chance that he made it out of this alive. He just needed to get that flash drive to Ford.

 _If Bill finds out he's going to rip out your teeth one by one and be sure to show you your intestines as he eats them_.

Dipper shivered. He also needed to find a way to get rid of those thoughts, and that time, images as well. Maybe they would fade in time? He didn't know. What he did know right then though, was that he still felt good. And nothing was going to kill that for him. Not even Bill.

 _ **AN: I always do these late at night, so please forgive errors. I will go back and edit them someday. I just hate editing with a passion right now :p Anyway, enjoy!**_


	8. Inebriated and Infatuated

_**AN: So here's a shorter chapter filled with some of Bill's back story. It's shorter since next chapter, shit's going to go dooown ;D**_

Dipper still had an hour or two before Bill expected him back, and wanted to use that time to get the flash drive to Ford, but before he could call him, Bill called and interrupted his drive.

"Pine Tree, ya' done yet? Even if you're not you. . . you should come home and celebrate with me." He chuckled a little then tapped on something glass. "Don't worry, I just mean get wasted before we go out. I figure, fuck going to a nice restaurant, let's go get fucked up and dance. I own enough, c-clubs that we have our pick of atmosphere!"

He rolled his eyes at the clearly already drunk demon, and sighed. Getting the flash drive to Ford had to wait. That was okay though, he could keep it hidden for a little while. "Fine. I'm on my way back."

"Good! Good. . . Hurry!" Dipper could hear Bill laughing before he hung up and it made him roll his eyes again.

It wasn't even five yet and the demon was smashed.

 _Smashed like your head's going to be when Bill finds out!_

He shook his head and cringed at the thought. Bill hopefully wouldn't find out until it was too late, and he had given the flashdrive to Ford.

Dipper was almost okay with dying, as long as it meant he took Bill down with him. Still wasn't too excited about the thought of course, but it made the idea of death easier to swallow. Going out doing something good. That was the ideal way to go.

When he got to the mansion, he hesitated to open the door, since he knew he would be greeted with the inebriated man.

"P-Pine Tree, c'mere!" Bill was in the kitchen, holding a bottle of some expensive alcohol that Dipper didn't care to look at.

"What do you want?" He sat down in one of the chairs and crossed his arms.

"You finish, doing what I asked?" He sat down next to Dipper and leaned in close so that he could listen better.

Dipper moved back as far as he could and nodded. "Most of it's done. I can finish another day."

"That's, it's uh, just what I wanted to hear!" He slid the bottle over to him and nudged his arm. "Drink! This is good shit!"

"Last time I drank something you gave me it made me sick." He pushed the bottle back and Bill furrowed his brows.

"How rude! Pine Tree, you're, you're going to need to stop with that. I-I get real irritable real quick when I'm, d-drunk. Don't you wann' have fun instead?"

He took a deep breath and grabbed the neck of the bottle. "I'll have a little bit." A drink actually did sound nice. He wasn't going to get anywhere near drunk, not while Bill was around, but getting a good buzz going might help him be less tense.

Taking a fairly large swing, he found that the alcohol didn't burn like he thought it would. It was extremely fruity and there was. . . something up with it.

"Bill, what is this?"

The demon laughed and took the bottle from him, taking a large drink. "It m-may or, may not, have some h-hallucinogens added, for, for fun, of course!"

"Seriously?" Dipper groaned. Hopefully he hadn't had enough for it to affect him.

"You ever do anything like this? The, uh, the drugs I mean?" Bill took another swig and leaned against Dipper.

He moved away from him and shook his head. "No. I got high once, but that was when I was like, seventeen."

Bill let out a loud laugh and leaned back in his own chair. He put the lid back on the drink and pushed it away from himself. "W-well, I've had enough, and I'm guessing you're going to be, a bit of a light weight, Mr., uh, Pine Tree? Yeah, Pine Tree."

"You are really drunk," Dipper chuckled.

He actually looked kind of harmless right then. A large, goofy smile on his face, no sharp teeth, and his eyes weren't as. . . intense, as they usually were. Of course, that wasn't going to fool Dipper, Bill had even said he gets really upset really quickly when he was drunk, so he knew that he still couldn't let his guard down. Even though he did look a lot nicer than usual.

"Drunk, is the thing to be, Mr. Pine Tree! H-hey, I rhymed!" He laughed and stood up, using the table to support himself. "You're probably gonna be fucked up soon too! Wait until it kicks in!"

"You sure you want to go to the club?" Dipper had to catch Bill as he stumbled a bit and pushed him back down into his chair.

Bill protested a bit, but when he fell back into the chair, he nodded. "Y-yeah, maybe I drank a bit too, uh too much. H-help me, to my room?"

Dipper was a little shocked at the politeness in Bill's voice, and nodded slowly. "Alright, but we're not 'having fun' while you're this intoxicated."

Nothing was said as they made their way to the room, since Dipper was too annoyed, since he had to practically carry Bill.

He set him down on the bed, then turned to hurry out. With Bill drunk, he could use that time to meet up with Ford.

"H-hey, wait, Pine Tree," Bill whined. "You can't just leave me like this!"

His shoulders slumped and rolled his eyes. "Do I have to stay?"

"I think so!" Bill laughed and patted the bed next to him in a half-assed manner. "Wouldn't you like to just, talk for once? I know you thirst for knowledge, and I, I'm a bottomless well! Go on, ask me something!"

"Why're you so annoying?" Dipper reluctantly went and sat on the bed next to him, leaning back on the headboard.

Bill turned on his side, or at least, tried to, and looked at Dipper with a scowl. "Now, now, d-don't be rude. I'm serious. Wudduya wanna know kid? You've been good, I'll give you some information."

Dipper bit at his lip and took in a deep breath. Knowing more about the demon blood thing would be nice. "The voices. . . Do they eventually go away?"

"Finally got those huh? How about the fever?" Bill lazily flung his hand upwards, nearly hitting Dipper in the face, and held his hand on his cheek. "Seems okay. I-I can start teachin' you some magic, when I'm sober of course." He let his hand slide down his face and fall onto Dipper's lap. "No, they won't. You're stuck with 'em!"

Great, one more thing he had to carry with him if he survived this ordeal. "Will they get worse?"

Bill was quiet for a moment, and moved his hand away from Dipper. "Y'know, I like you kid. You're entertaining. Not really as smart as you put yourself out to be, but something about the way your brain ticks intrigues me. I guess I can tell you the truth as to w-why I did the whole, blood thing."

"And what's the truth?"

"I was a human once. Long, long, long, time ago. Don't r-really remember much about it, but I know it happened. I don't even think we had the knowledge to build, b-boats in my day!"

"What?" Dipper turned his body to face Bill, suddenly interested in what Bill had to say. "How'd you become a demon?"

Bill waved his hand at him. "D-don't interrupt me and I'll tell ya!" he laughed. "Anyway, I do remember meeting a man who I swear was Lucifer himself! He taught me horrible things, as I'm p-pretty damned sure I was some sorta serial killer, and one day he offered me to be w-what he, uh, was. I told him, hell yeah! Who wouldn't want all that power? So I drank his blood, and then he offed me. Slit my throat and watched me bleed out."

Dipper stared wide-eyed at the demon. He wasn't for real, right?

"Next thing I know I was in this weird ass place, a bunch of fuckin' aimless souls were floatin' around, and, and, uh, I was just there, alone. I still felt like killin' stuff, so I learned how to kill the souls around me, and eventually learned all that I know now, and became so powerful that the others started to listen to me, like I was some damned god or somethin'." Bill adjusted himself and was finally able to turn on his side. He started to idly paw at Dipper's pants, and continued. "I got sick of that place, and remembered that this world was still a thing, and figured that I could use my power to make this place f-fun!"

"So, drinking the blood made you a demon? I'm going to turn into a demon?" Dipper nearly shouted.

"No, no! W-well, not yet. I wanted someone I could spend a lota time with and not get bored with, and you seriously got some fine cogs in that head. I could fill you up with, with, so much information, and keep you by my side to help me think. Doin' this alone gets to be tiring."

"Wait, so, you're lonely, and you need me so that you aren't lonely? How pathetic," Dipper chuckled. "I'm just another human. You're surrounded by demons who are way more qualified than I am. Not like I want to be in this position in the first place."

Bill took in a slow deep breath, and smiled. "It is pathetic, isn't it? And don't be so modest kid! Your soul screamed at me to take you."

Dipper let his legs stretch out on the bed, and he slid down a little to be in a lying down position. "I think I like you better when you're drunk." He wasn't feeling any side effects, thank god, so he was hoping he could try and take advantage of the situation, by getting Bill to reveal some sort of weakness. "So you're really, all powerful, huh?"

"Well, I'm a hellofa lot stronger than any demon I know! And o' course you do, I'm actually being nice! When I'm drunk, I only feel one emotion, and it's always at its extreme. I feel good right now! Don't fucking change that Pine Tree. And, don't even think, that I won't be my old, charming self tomorrow."

He nodded and relaxed into the bed, feeling like he might drift off if Bill kept talking to him. "So there's nothing that the great Bill Cipher flinches at? That's cool. Good to know I'm stuck with someone powerful at least."

"Don't be so sarcastic Mr. Tree. Pine Tree. I, uh, huh." Bill blinked a few times and huffed. "I can't think right now. I've told you my story, and that's all the brain power I have right now. I'ma let myself pass out now."

Dipper's eyes began to feel heavy as well, and he nodded. "Okay."

Bill reached his arms out and laid one over Dipper's chest, and let the other fall on his head, where he tiredly played with his hair. "Good night Pine Tree. Don't get fucking used to me being this nice."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

 _ **AN: Alcohol brings out the best in Bill. Too bad he doesn't drink as much as Dipper would like him to.**_


	9. Bloody Secrets

_**AN: Please don't hate me**_

Waking up next to Bill was not something Dipper appreciated. The demon snored, smelled like booze, and was clearly not someone used to sharing a bed, since he was sprawled out and hit Dipper with his arms multiple times throughout the night.

But, he was a heavy sleeper, and that could be used. Dipper slipped out of the bed and tiptoed out of the room, determined to get something done while the demon was out cold. He could use this time to hand off the flash drive to Ford. It was fairly early in the morning, and he would have plenty of time to meet up with him then come back. And if Bill questioned it, he could just say he was finishing up what he was doing the day before.

After changing his shirt, Dipper took the blue car out, since he still had the key, and called Ford again.

"What's up?"

"I need to drop off something else with you. Meet me at the same place?"

"Of course. On my way."

As he drove, his mind drifted to the night before. Had Bill been telling him the truth about his past? What if he was just telling stories because he was drunk? What if Dipper really was going to be stuck with Bill forever, and become a demon?

He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to stop his racing thoughts. He would have to face things as they came.

"Hey, Di-Danny!" Ford greeted him with a large smile, and leaned against his car.

Dipper nodded a little and leaned on the car next to Ford, discreetly handing him the flash drive. "Watch this alone. Watch it as many times as you can so that you can make sure you know what's going on. I-if I'm not around for some reason, use it to continue Bill's case. It would be best if you don't contact me for the next few days. Figure out what to do with this information before sharing it with anyone."

"This sounds huge. Is it proof of the people disappearing?" Ford took the flashdrive and slipped it into the inside pocket of his jacket while glancing around to make sure that no one was looking.

"Just watch it. I have to go."

"Wait! What do you mean if you're not around? Are you in danger?" Ford stared at Dipper with stern eyes and a large frown. "If this is the kind of proof we need to end Bill, why not come out? Get away from him?"

Dipper looked down and took in a shaky breath. He almost didn't know if he could go away from Bill right then. He needed to know more about what was going to happen to him, about what the demon's blood did to him. "I have to stay a little longer. Just," he gulped as he felt a lump form in his throat "just tell Mabel I love her, and I'm happy her dream is coming true. I wish I could see it." He didn't want to cry. God did he not want to think about how he might never see his twin again. He turned and went back to the car, holding back the suppressed sob he had been holding in since he had met Bill.

"I can't just let you walk to your death." Ford stepped after him, but refrained from physically grabbing him and stopping him.

"You might not be. I plan on coming back. It's, just in case, ya know? Can't imagine a powerful billionaire being too happy about me sharing his secrets like this. I'm sure he knows how to hide a body." Dipper opened the car door and bit at his bottom lip. "Watch the videos. All of them." He got into the car and drove off before Ford could say anything else. Had he stayed much longer, he might've let himself get convinced to stay.

But he knew the time wasn't right. He had to stay longer. Find out as much as he could, so that he could fully get rid of Bill.

Bill was sitting in the kitchen when he got back, and looked like he had a pretty bad hangover. His hair was messy and he had slight bags under his eyes. "Pine Tree, how dare you let me drink so much."

"Yes, because I have any say over what you do." Dipper rolled his eyes and sat across from him. "Have you had any water? Or, whatever demons do to cure hangovers?"

"Not be a fucking wimp and wait it out. I'll survive." He ran a hand through his hair and huffed. "How sweet of you to care about my headache. Did my stupid, mushy, drunk, side make you think I was actually somewhat nice or something?"

"Nothing in the universe could make me think such things. And no, I'm not worried, I just don't want to hear any bitching all day."

Any trace of a smile dropped off Bill's face and his eyes grew dark. "You're stepping over the line kid. Keep running your mouth and you're going to get fucking hurt. Maybe this time I'll see how hard I can hit you in the back of the head before you get a concussion. I don't mind keeping you inside today."

Dipper looked away from Bill and chewed at his cheek.

"That's what I fucking thought. Now, since you've decided to behave, we should go out to lunch. The more dates we're seen on, the better." Bill stood up and rubbed his face. "I need to take a shower first. And you," he gestured to Dipper with a lazy wave "should look cuter than that. Fluff up your hair, undo the top button of your shirt, and wear some nice, tight, jeans. Also wear the cologne I bought you."

Dipper did as he was told, not wanting to push Bill's buttons. He was clearly being defensive since he had accidentally shown Dipper that he wasn't always a complete giant douche bag, and would very easily over compensate to make Dipper flinch at him again.

"That's my cute boyfriend!" Bill laughed as he walked into Dipper's room, freshly showered. "What do you feel like for brunch?"

"As long as it's not somewhere with a ton of people."

The demon smirked, showing off his shark-like teeth, then sauntered over to Dipper. "Nervous, Pine Tree?" He stepped as close as he could to him, and grabbed his waist. "The shy thing you do in public works. They think you're some sweet little thing being pulled along by me, the suave, charming billionaire. People are eating you up. You were a good idea."

"So you lied when you said that you took me in because you were lonely," he teased.

His nails dug into Dipper's hips, making him let out a small yelp. "Whether I lied or not, watch your fucking tongue and don't be so snippy." He pulled him closer and pressed his nose to Dipper's. "I already made the plans to go out, don't make me cancel them do to you, 'falling down the stairs'."

There was something in Bill's stare that said that he wasn't joking, and the way he was man-handling him was more intimidating than Dipper thought it would be. "Okay."

"Good. Now, I'm usually okay with a little lip, but I'm not in the mood today. This migraine won't allow it." He inhaled through his nose and closed his eyes. "Alright, let's get going."

Never had there been so many cameras in Dipper's face. He hadn't been on any kind of news website, or a social media platform in a while, so he hadn't noticed that he and Bill were a hot topic. The cafe-type place they went to eat at had quite a few people snapping pictures, and it made Dipper insanely anxious.

The building itself was actually really quite relaxing, being as it was painted with warm colors, it wasn't a very large building, and there were a few water features around the inside and outside dining areas.

Dipper hadn't been somewhere so detailed to look like it was straight out of a magazine before, so it actually relaxed him a little bit to examine the paintings on the wall, and the way the stones around the waterfalls were laid out.

Though, when ever he would glance back a Bill, the impending doom feeling crept back into his gut. Ford had the flash drive now, and just knowing he did something so big behind Bill's back made him panic. He knew it was going to come bite him in the ass.

"Calm down kid, I can see the stress in your face. You're supposed to be happy, remember? Now act happy or I'll find a new place to bite." Bill leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his black and gray, designer, cargo jacket. It looked surprisingly good on him, considering he still looked a little washed up from the heavy drinking the night before.

A waitress dressed in a green apron with white clothes underneath, came over to them and asked what they wanted for drinks.

"I'll just have water." Bill smiled up at her, looking as charming as a prince, his teeth rounded as if they were normal, and his usually angular facial features looking a bit more rounded.

Dipper almost stared at him in disbelief, since he hadn't seen the demon look so sweet before. "I'll have water too."

 _I bet you could completely soak those white clothes with blood if you slit her throat open with that knife. The red would look really good over that olive skin of hers._

That thought was too much at that moment, since he had made eye contact with her right when it came across his mind, so he flinched back a bit and looked down at the table.

"He's really shy," Bill chuckled.

"It's fine! At least he's not rude," she smiled back at him.

"Very true!" Bill looked back at Dipper and smiled warmly at him, making Dipper shrink further into his chair, his face feeling hot.

Being around this many people was not his thing, and it felt like all of the attention was on him. Not like he was very self-conscious, but it just felt weird being the center of attention. Why weren't they just looking at the pretty building? It looked better than he did.

The waitress disappeared to get the drinks and Bill immediately noticed the distress on Dipper's face. "Having the thoughts huh? Get on my level and they happen every minute or so. You'll learn to ignore them. Mostly, anyway."

"So, just tell me," Dipper said a with a little confidence. He was in public, a place Bill couldn't snap at him, so he was going to take advantage of it. "How much of last night's drunken babble was true?"

Bill raised an eyebrow. "Drunken babble huh? I tell you my life story and you call it drunken babble?"

"I don't know how much of it was true, so I didn't know it was your actual life story."

The waitress returned with their drinks, and took their orders, both ordering something light, as Bill wasn't too hungry and Dipper couldn't stomach a lot of food after the bloody thought.

"So," Bill said as soon as she walked away "where were you this morning?"

Dipper had prepared himself for this. Don't fuck up the lie, don't fuck up the lie. "Just finishing some stuff from yesterday. I figured you'd want me to get it over with quickly." Perfect.

There was a strangely intense moment of silence between the two, where the glasses and silverware clicking around them, and the soft murmur of voices were almost overwhelming.

"Fair enough," Bill finally said. "Just tell me next time before you leave. I told you not everyone likes either of us very much, so I can't protect you if I have no idea where you are."

"Okay." That was a little weird. Dipper knew that Bill needed him to look good for the public, but it was almost starting to feel like Bill had more selfish reasons than that for keeping him around. Was it the "fun"? Did he really think Dipper was all that interesting?

After they finished eating, only having strange, idle chatter in between bites, Bill wanted to drag him out to a movie. As they left, Dipper caught a glance at the tip Bill had left for the waitress. It was huge.

The demon really knew how to micromanage everything to make himself seem like an angel. The public must've really thought he was something special.

"I think a horror movie would suit us best, don't you? There's a new slasher film I think would be perfect," Bill said as they got back into his red car.

"You sound like such a teenager," Dipper scoffed.

Bill shrugged with one shoulder and tapped his finger on the steering wheel. "So slasher, or no?"

"Fine, fine, we can watch your gore."

"There wasn't really much of a choice, just thought I'd act polite for a moment to see if you would return the gesture. You failed," he chuckled.

"Sorry," he said sarcastically.

The movie wasn't bad. It was just some gore, jumpscare thing about teenagers going into the woods, like most other horror movies, but it has a somewhat decent story, and the acting wasn't terrible. The only thing really bad about the movie, was that Bill held his hand the whole time.

Dipper tried to move it away several times, but Bill would just keep grabbing it and even leaned on him a few times. It was going to be a little bit harder than he thought to play boyfriend, since he could barely stand any touch from the demon.

Once the movie let out, they started to walk back to the car in silence. Bill seemed a little distracted, and Dipper wasn't about to disrupt one of his thinking sessions.

Before Bill could open the driver's door, his phone rang and he paused to answer it.

"Yellow?" He nodded as the other person spoke. "Fine. Well, I'll have someone take me over and I'll check it out. Let me ditch the human first." He hung up, then tossed the car keys at Dipper. "8-Ball's going to pick me up in a second. Go take the car and find something to entertain yourself for an hour or so. This shouldn't take long, Shawn just wants me to take a look at something. Probably something stupid, I'm sure."

"Alright, can do."

With Bill gone, and nothing else to do, Dipper decided to just go for a drive somewhere in town.

He couldn't see Ford, not until he was sure the videos had really sunk in for him, and he didn't really want to think of something to do for an hour, so taking a drive sounded nice.

The air was cold, but it felt really nice on his skin. He had rolled down the windows, and found a nice stretch of road that he could cruise on. This wasn't so bad. Things were actually looking okay. Still pretty bleak, but not nearly as bad as they did at first.

Ford had the flash drive, Bill wasn't as hard to deal with as he thought he would be, and Dipper could eventually get used the the horrible, morbid thoughts.

He definitely needed more information from Bill though. When he died, would he become a demon like Bill did? Was drinking the blood really all it took to become a demon? If Bill really was planning on just eating him, then what was the point of having him drink the blood in the first place?

There would be a few opportunities to learn more, he was sure. If he could just play Bill right, he could get what he wanted. Of course, he would have to continue to put up with the demon's horrible attitude, and the very unwanted "fun" times, but it would be worth it to know what his future held.

Before he knew it, he had been out for a good hour and a half, so he figured he'd better head back to Bill's place before he got mad for him being out so long. At least he would have a legitimate excuse that time for being gone.

He pulled up to the house, with a smile on his face. All of the lights were off, so he assumed Bill just hadn't come back yet. He figured he might as well go get ready for the night, since it was already pretty late in the day.

As he walked to his room, a blue glow lit up the kitchen, and grabbed Dipper's attention. Maybe Bill was home.

He walked in slowly, making sure to look at where the light was coming from before making too much noise. "Bill?"

There, at the end of the table, Bill was sitting, one hand sprawled on his face with a finger between his sharp teeth, and the other hand holding some sort of paper or something between his index and middle fingers. He was soaked in blood from the neck down, and his face had splatters of it around his mouth. His demonic features were showing, and the floor around him was glowing with blue fire.

"W-what's that? What happened?"

Bill's eye were wide, and they seemed to be glowing as well, the yellow so intense it looked almost toxic. He wiggled the thing in his hand a couple times before lightly tossing it onto the table, it sliding almost all the way to Dipper.

He stepped forward, shaking. Something was wrong. He grabbed the folded thing off the table, and out fell something plastic, that hit the table with a few loud clicking sounds. He ignored that though, and looked at the folded thing. It was dark, and covered in blood, but there, from underneath a drop of crimson, he saw his face.

His badge. Oh, god.

His eyes darted to the table. The flash drive. "B-Bill, I-I, uh," he stuttered. He took a few steps back, looking at the glowing pair of eyes in front of him.

Bill motioned to the chair at the other end of the table, his claws flicking blood across the table as they moved. "Why don't you go ahead and have a seat, Dipper."

AN: ( X )


	10. The Torture of Detective Dipper Pines

Silence. There was nothing but, horrible, horrible silence. If Dipper could move, he might have been able to sit like Bill had told him to, but his body refused to do anything. His breath was caught in his lungs and his mouth hung open slightly, no words coming to them.

"I said," Bill stood up and the fire around him rose "sit!" His voice came out distorted and his eyes looked like they were turning red.

Dipper found it in himself to fall into the chair, but his gaze dropped from the demon and he stared down at the table with wide eyes. He was going to die.

"You know," Bill said, his voice returning to normal "at first, I thought, maybe the kid isn't some sort of cop. I mean, who could be that bad at their job?" He laughed a little, making Dipper's insides shake. He sounded like a maniac. "But I played along. You played it off really well, I have to admit. I'm not even mad about the lying part. Because I knew." Bill walked over to him, a tail that Dipper hadn't noticed before flicking back and forth. "I'm an ancient demon who can stare into your soul, how could I have _not_ known?"

Dipper gulped as the heat from the demon got closer. Oh god, oh god. The blood on Bill, the flash drive. Ford was probably dead. Did Bill know about Mabel? Oh, god, oh god, fuck.

"No, the thing I'm mad about," Bill stopped next to Dipper and put his index finger on his chest, slightly digging his nail into him "is that I thought you were afraid enough not to fuck yourself over this badly. And smart enough." He dragged the nail downwards, cutting Dipper's shirt and chest open.

He clamped his jaw shut, trying not to let out sounds of anguish. Fuck it hurt.

"A lot of your life seems to be already decided, seeing as us meeting was an accident, and me finding out about your fuck up was as well. Shawn just happened to be in a random neighborhood, looking for new humans to use, when it just so happens that you were there, talking with your uncle. Nothing about that seemed too suspicious, since like I said, I've known about your stupid fucking lie for a while, but when he saw you handing something off to him, he knew he'd better tell me." He stopped dragging his nail down his torso, just before his jeans, then snapped his fingers.

Dipper's hands were suddenly tied behind the chair, and his shirt was off. Bill was going to torture him.

"Fate has a sick fucking sense of humor, don't it?" Bill grabbed Dipper's hair and pulled his head up, making him meet his stare.

It was so strange that Bill's form looked mostly human. It made the non-human features that much creepier. Dipper hadn't really gotten much of a chance to examine him very closely while he was like this, since each time he was either too scared to look or it happened so quickly that he didn't get to.

Bill's hair had flecks of black in it now, and his eyelashes seemed longer and ink black, making his pure yellow eyes pop from his face. His lips seemed thinner, as if to show off the razor sharp teeth inside his mouth, and his ears came to a slight point.

He used another one of his sharp claws to dig into Dipper's skin, just above his collarbone, and dragged it up his neck, making blood start to ooze out and trickle down his chest. "I'm going to make you regret what you've done. Crossing me like this will never be forgotten."

"You're not going to kill me?" Dipper wasn't sure how he managed to speak, but he was pretty sure it was because he was so shocked about Bill's decision to let him live. He cringed at the nail in his throat, and resisted letting out loud cries, since he was sure Bill would find a way to silence them.

The demon laughed and took his nail away from him, licking off the blood. "Oh, no. That would be letting you off too easy. No, I have plans for you. Besides, your death would be a blow to my presence in the media right now."

A sharp pain went up Dipper's spine, and that time he couldn't hold back a loud cry. The demon had used his knuckle to press into his lower back, hard enough that there was a popping sound.

"I can bring you so close to death, my little Pine Tree," he whispered in Dipper's ear. In a quick motion, Bill used his hand to grab Dipper's shoulder, and he pressed on it, hard, until there was another satisfying popping sound.

Another loud cry came from Dipper. The pain was so sharp at first, and he felt like he was going blind and couldn't breath, but it shortly became dulled, and Dipper felt himself go limp.

Bill was still holding onto his hair, making sure to keep the struggling man in place, and laughed at his cries. "What's the matter? Can't take what you knew was coming?" Bill sat on Dipper's lap, facing him, and let go of his hair. He put his hands on Dipper's cheeks, pulling them upwards so that Dipper was looking him in the eye. "Don't look so down, kid. Look on the brightside! I can heal you after this." He dug his nails into Dipper's cheeks, then pulled them downwards, tearing open the sides of his face.

Dipper was almost as bloody as the demon at that point. Most of him had gone numb, the only thing still really hurting being his shoulder, which felt like someone was still pushing their hand into it.

"Not going to to beg for mercy, huh?" Bill leaned forward and dug his teeth into Dipper's hurt shoulder, making him scream.

He tried to kick and move around, but, _he couldn't move his legs._ And trying to move them _fucking hurt_. Even though he was in more pain than he ever thought, the most prominent thing he could feel, was the blood, slowly oozing out of his wounds. Down his cheeks, his neck, and pooling down on his lap. It was so warm on his cold skin, and he almost felt like if he focused on just that, he could endure the rest of the torture.

"No sorry either? You know, I was kind of starting to actually like the idea of having you around. You're going to have to earn that back. Until then though, I think we should move this to an area with a bed. I have so much more to do to you."

Whatever was in this flash drive, it was big. Ford could feel it. As soon as Dipper had rushed off, he figured he'd better do the same, so that he could watch it and see what had the boy so freaked out.

He ignored the hello's from his co-workers, and went straight into his office, and plugged the small thing into his laptop.

There were about six files, all mp4s, labeled by date only. Dipper had told him to watch all of them, multiple times, so he did.

Over and over he watched as people were lead into the room, closed behind a curtain, then murdered. By. . . by _things_. Inhuman, horrible things. This couldn't be real. Why the hell would Dipper have given this to him?

Again, he watched the videos. He copied them to his laptop so that he could take them apart and see if they had been edited. They hadn't. At least, as far as he could see, and he was a damn fine detective.

He emerged from his office in a bit of a panic. If what he was seeing was real, then Dipper was in huge, huge trouble, and he needed to prove it to get help so that they could pull him out.

"Wendy, have any of you found anything more on the recent murders? Do they look like they've been eaten at all?"

The red headed woman eyed him with a skeptical look. ". . . No? Not really. You need to sit down though man. You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

Ford shook his head. "I need to get this," he held up the flash drive "to someone who can look at it. Dipper gave it to me, and it's got hard proof of the murders, if it's real. I have to get it to someone who can fully verify it for me though."

"I'll hold down the fort," Wendy saluted in a lazy manner.

"Good. Keep an eye out for anything that may be from Dipper. Calls, emails, damned smoke signals, I don't care. If he needs help, we're going to help him."

"Yes sir!" She faked saluted again, though her voice had a serious tone, since she was also worried about her childhood friend. She went back to her computer as Ford rushed out of the building, immediately getting back to work on the recent murder files.

Dipper's bag was still in his car, and he took out his badge, placing it on the dashboard. He kept it open so that he could see his nephew's face.

"I'm going to help you Dipper. That thing isn't going to lay a hand on you."

His video guy, Jason, that he had been working with for years, was at his house, as usual, so he wasn't surprised to find him in his basement, surrounded by his many computer screens.

The room he used for his computer was fairly small compared to the rest of the house, and it was cluttered with papers, junk, and soda cans and wrappers from the man's poor dietary choices. It looked more like a teenage boys room rather than a forty-something full grown man's.

"Jay, need you to look at the files on this thing." He lightly tossed it onto the sandy-haired man's lap. "It's freaky stuff, but I need to know if this was computer generated or not. My inside guy gave it to me for the Cipher case and I'm having a hard time believing I can use this is court without knowing if it's real."

The man grabbed it and examined it, scoffing at the amount of space the thing had. "What is it, a picture or two?" His voice was harsh, and it was obvious that this was the first time the man had spoken in a while.

Ford rolled his eyes and let out a chuckle. "Some videos. I really can't tell if they're fake or not. The quality itself seems just fine, but the objects in the video. . . well, you tell me."

Jason put the thing on his desk and nodded. "Think it'll bring the rich asshole in? I knew that guy was dirty."

"I hope so. If what's on this is real though, then we need to worry about more than just Cipher." Ford took Dipper's badge from his pocket, and stared at the picture while he spoke. "I hope my nephew comes out of this okay."

"Ya old sap, carryin' his picture around. If he's as sturdy as you are, the kid can survive living with this rich douche."

The room suddenly went dark, all of the electronics turning off, then back on for a moment, before dying again, causing the humming room to go silent as well.

"The fuck? Something just zapped my juice, and my backup juice!" Jason turned and typed at his keyboard, trying to get his system to respond in anyway.

Ford could feel a warmth in the room, and pulled his gun. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

A soft, blue glow slowly lit up the room, and he could hear a strange laugh.

Jason stood up from his chair and tried to face what was behind him, but was quickly knocked back into his desk, smashing into the screens.

Even with the blue lighting up the room, it was still hard to see, so Ford didn't know what to shoot at. Something was clearly in there with them, but he couldn't see it.

"God dammit, I said show yourself, you coward!" Ford backed into the wall so that he didn't have such a huge blind spot, and aimed his gun forward.

Two yellow, glowing. . . eyes? Ford couldn't really tell what they were, but they were staring right at him. Should he shoot it? Before he could, he felt a cold grip on his wrists that yanked him down onto the ground, hard. After he hit the ground, something hit his head, and made it impossible for him to pull himself back up.

As his eyelids slid closed, he could see a hand pick up Dipper's badge, which he had dropped when the lights went out. Then, that same hand went over to the desk, and began ripping into his screaming friend.

He could hear the cracks and splatters of blood and bones, but the pain in his head made him black out before he could call out to his friend.

Hours later, Ford opened his eyes, unsure of where he was. Well, on the floor, that was a start. He shook his head and felt a sharp pain in his temple. Cringing at it, he forced himself up and felt his gun slide out of his hand. Why was his gun out?

The pool of blood had seeped close to him, and his eyes followed it to the desk, where what was left of his friend was draped over it. Bones were sticking out in all directions, and the monitors were soaked in the spray of blood that had exploded when the man's chest was cracked open. Most of the organs were gone from the inside, but what was left had either dropped onto the floor or was hanging from the leather office chair.

He resisted a gag at the sight, and suddenly random sounds and images rushed back into his head. The power had gone out. Then. . . then what? Someone, or something had attacked them. And took the flash drive.

And Dipper's badge.

If it were one of the things on the video, then Dipper was in trouble. Big, big trouble.

Ford couldn't go to the police force with the monster thing, since his proof hadn't been verified by one of the only people that could do it, and right then he would just sound like he was in shock, and was trying to make up something to cope.

Regardless, first thing was first. He had to call in help and get this bloody mess looked at. Maybe they would be able to find something here that would help prove that a monster did it. Hopefully. After he made sure to get this mess sorted out, he would need to contact Dipper. He didn't care if he had said not to. If Cipher was behind these monsters, then Dipper was about to get caught, and very likely hurt.

"I'll get you Cipher. One way or another," he looked at the bloody mess of a body in front of him and cringed "I'll put you away for this."

 _ **AN: Go to Bloodbathsmut on Tumblr for the smut interlude for this chapter ;p**_


	11. Change and Hope

_**AN: Alright so here's a super sleep deprived chapter that's to transition the story into the next chapter, which will be filled with demon mischief and blood.**_

While Bill was in the shower, Dipper laid on the bed, mortified. How far did Bill go to make sure that Dipper knew he had fucked up? Judging by him having his badge and flash drive, he had probably already lost Ford, but did Bill know about his other family? He didn't really speak to many of them, but he did have plenty of family.

Oh god, Mabel. He probably knew about her too.

He looked down at himself and cringed. He was cut open in so many places, he still couldn't move or even feel his legs, and he was. . . gross, to say the least.

A vibrating sound made him begin to panic. It was either Bill's cell phone or his. And if it was his, and if Ford really was gone, then it would be Wendy, and she would be trying to see if they needed to pull him out. Oh god, that would be bad.

Bill finally got out of the shower, and got dressed in a white blouse and buttoned a nice black vest over it, and black jeans for pants.

He ignored that Dipper was even there, but finally after listening to two missed calls on the phone, he picked it up and looked at the thing.

It was Dipper's phone, and Bill just smirked at the name that appeared on the screen.

"You're going to answer this call, and you're going to act like everything is fine. Fuck this up and I will torture you for another hour or so."

Dipper nodded as best as he could, and cleared his throat when Bill held the phone in front of his face. "Hello?"

"Oh, god, you answered." It was Ford. He wasn't dead.

"Y-yeah, sorry, I was taking a shower. What's up?"

Ford was smart, he knew that if Dipper wasn't pleading for help, then he was probably okay until they could get more solid proof to help pull him out of there. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay. I've been hearing a lot about these murders lately and I get worried, you know that."

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I doubt anyone would break into this place anyway, and I don't really go out without Bill."

Ford let out a dry laugh. "Alright, well, let me know if you need anything. My phone's always on."

"Will do. And, uh, hey. Say hi to everyone for me."

He paused for a moment. That probably meant that he was actually in danger. Ford would need to work fast at putting Bill away. "Definitely. Love you, kid."

"Love ya too."

Bill disconnected the call and laughed. "How fucking sappy. Now, I think it's time he start healing these things up before they do any lasting damage." Carefully reaching over the bloody parts of Dipper so that he wouldn't ruin his clean shirt, Bill cut part of his wrist open, then pushed it to Dipper's lips.

"B-Bill, this isn't," he mumbled as he tried to fight his wrist away.

He used his other hand to grab Dipper's hair and pull his head back, then forced the wrist into his mouth. "I'm being nice and healing your wounds. Be fucking thankful."

The blood tasted a little differently than it did when he had had it from the glass. It was of course much warmer, hot almost, and it was so much sweeter, as if it were a sugary drink. Tea. That's what it tasted like. Green tea with a shit load of sugar.

Bill held his wrist there for a while, and Dipper was beginning to worry about the amount that he was drinking. Hadn't Bill said that if he had too much he would get crippling headaches, and that his muscles would ache?

Finally, after what felt like forever, Bill moved his wrist away and took a deep breath. "That should do it. It'll make you super fucking sick for a while, but you should heal up pretty good." He snapped his fingers and Dipper's wrists were let out from the binds Bill had tied him up with. "Once you can walk, go take a shower and hang out in your room until I come and get you. Get into something comfortable, since you need to take it easy until your fixed. If you need anything, then forget about it. I'm not going to be nice until I warm up to you again. And it may take a while, unless you kiss some major ass."

"Okay." Dipper forced himself to sit up, still unable to move his legs. Some of the shallower cuts were already starting to heal, and the deeper ones were noticeably shrinking in size. "T-thanks. For, fixing me." Oh, he hated saying that. It was so hard to spit out. But he had to. He wanted Bill to not be so cold towards him, since he didn't want to have to worry about his family being in danger.

"Thata boy, keep it up. You're lucky I like you." Bill turned on his heels and left the room, whistling some tune Dipper didn't recognize.

God, did he feel so low right then. He was filthy, hurt, and had little to no pride left. But, that was exactly what Bill wanted of him. To be defeated, empty, and afraid. Well, he wasn't going to be that. No, he would kiss ass, and he would go back to being what he was for Bill before, but he wouldn't just take this. Ford was alive. And if he knew Ford, he had copied those files right away.

That was his hope. Ford now had the information he needed, and Dipper knew he would find a way to use it against Bill. He would probably have little to no room to do anything on his own, so he would have to trust that Ford was working this.

Testing his legs, he found that they responded enough to get out of the bed, and at least pull his boxers on so that he didn't have to walk to his room naked.

As he walked to his room, he thought about how pitiful he must've looked. He was so glad that know one was there to see him like this. In fact, he'd probably die on the spot if Mabel, or Ford, or Stan, or anyone had seen him right then.

The shower felt terrible. No matter what temperature he made the water, it hit his skin funny, and made him shiver. The soap smelled so much stronger than usual, giving him a headache, and he had to scrub at his skin to get the blood off, which hurt the wounds that were still open.

Once the awful shower ended, he put on a gray T-shirt and some normal jeans, then laid down in his bed. He still felt terrible. The air was terrible.

He let out a frustrated groan and pulled the pillow over his face. This fucking sucked. His body was overstimulated, and constantly uncomfortable.

"Shitty, huh?" Bill's voice made Dipper sit up quickly.

"The worst. What's it doing now?"

"Healing you, dipshit. What the fuck do you think I did it for?" Bill sat down on the bed next to him. "You'll be feeling like this for a whole week. And in that time, you're staying in here. I'll bring you food and whatever the fuck else you might need, but you have to stay in here."

"A week? Of just sitting in here?"

Bill glared at the outburst and grabbed Dipper's chin. "You're still feisty? I almost have to admire that. I don't, but almost." He pulled Dipper's face to his, and pushed into a kiss. "You may be a fucking idiot, who I'm still fucking pissed at, and will continued to be picked on, but I still have a teeny-tiny flame for that head of yours. Don't fuck that up."

Dipper gulped and nodded. "Okay."

So, a week it was. Bill had brought him in food like he said he would, and it would have been nice, sitting and doing nothing, if his body hadn't been fighting him.

The first day, there wasn't much change, except for a small pain in his jaw that he didn't mind, and it was a fairly boring day. One that Dipper couldn't really complain about.

Come the second day, the ache in his jaw had gotten worse, and he would get dizzy from barely moving his head. Definitely a sign that things were going to get much worse before they would get any better.

For the third day, his body decided that it was time to vomit everything he ate, and he spent most of that day in the bathroom, dry heaving and sweating as if the room were on fire, which made him super dehydrated. Luckily he felt a little better later in the night and was able to drink some water, but the headache came in spades afterwards, making sleep impossible.

The fourth day was when he realized what was happening to him.

He woke up from the minutes of sleep he was able to get, with the ache in his jaw gone, and the headache had dulled. This was good of course, but not when he looked in the mirror.

Wide, blue eyes stared back at him. He did not have blue eyes, and definitely didn't have demon eyes. They looked just like Bill's did, the entire eye engulfed in a wonderful color, with only a slight black cat-like iris.

Bill was turning him into a demon.

He didn't fully look like one yet, though. The eyes and teeth were all but settled in, but the rest of him was fine, for the time being.

When Bill came in to bring him dinner, Dipper marched up to him and took a deep breath. Usually Bill would never stay to talk, but he looked interested in what Dipper had to say that time.

"You're turning me into a demon."

"Hm? Oh, no, not fully." Bill had a large smile on his face and looked amused by Dipper's angry face. "My blood will definitely make you look the part, but your soul is safe until it's been detached from your body. You'll be like a human in a demon's shell."

"Why? I thought you wanted to eat me when this was over."

Bill rolled his eyes. "And I will. I will most definitely eat you when I'm done with you. This can be undone, by me. If I so choose. For now I think I'll like having you this way. My sexy little half demon sitting by my side. The other demons will hate you, since technically what you are right now is 'illegal' where I'm from, but I'm Bill fucking Cipher, so no one can tell that I can't have you. Besides, you'll be able to fight back now if another demon decides to pick a fight."

Dipper almost sighed in relief. It could be reversed. He would have to find out how another time. Hopefully he would be able to reverse it before bringing Bill down. There was no way he wanted to live his life as this, half demon thing he was turning into.

"Don't think I won't still pluck your soul up once you die though. Then you'll become a full demon, and I can keep you forever."

He took a deep breath, keeping himself from snapping at Bill. He wasn't going to make him mad. Not until he got all of the information he needed.

Before Bill closed the door behind himself, he smiled back at Dipper, looking incredibly pleased with himself. "Oh yeah, and you'll probably start wanting to eat people. Just a craving though, not like you'll need it to live."

The door closed and Dipper started to shake.

 _Eating people sounds fun! I bet skin is so squishy between these new sharp teeth! Being bathed in blood sounds so warm. Like a blanket!_

Oh, god. The voice was so loud that time.

 _I bet these nails are sharp enough to carve into someone's bones!_

"No!" Dipper held his head and fell onto his knees. God they were so _loud_. "I won't eat anyone!" The voice was silent, and it made Dipper relax a little. So long as he didn't think about it, he would be okay.

Time to preoccupy himself until the rest of the week was up.

It proved to be impossible.

The fifth day, he laid in bed, trying to think of anything but people. He played music on his cell phone, which helped a little, but he couldn't focus on any of the game apps on it, and ended up just lying in bed, shaking.

The sixth day was the worst. When he tried to eat, the voice would scream in his head.

 _Wouldn't this be better if it were soaked in blood? The texture isn't right! It needs to be screaming!_

He pushed his food away and went to sit on his bed. Thank god Bill had given him a cell phone charger. He had no idea what he would do if he didn't have this stupid card game app to keep him busy for even just five minutes.

His body ached horribly that day, and he ended up shaking so badly that he couldn't hold the cell phone anymore, so he laid in bed, shaking and keeping his eyes clamped shut. Maybe if he could fall asleep, it would go away.

It eventually faded. In fact, on the seventh and final day, his body felt, normal. Confused, he sat and waited for Bill so that he could ask him as much as he could about what he had gone through.

"How's my little plaything today?" Bill seemed sickeningly happy at Dipper's confused face, and he plopped down next to him on the bed.

"Why do I feel normal today? My eyes are normal again, and the voice hasn't been nearly as loud."

The demon nearly giggled at him. "It means you're all fixed! Now get dressed and look nice. The press hasn't seen you in a little while and I don't want them to think you're dead. We're going to go out to lunch."

Dipper nodded and cleared his throat. "If Ford's still alive, then who's blood were you covered in?"

Bill's smile faded and he looked away from him. "Some guy named. . . hm. I don't seem to care enough to remember his name. He was in this room filled with computer crap and tasted like he ate too much junk food. That's all I care to remember." He grabbed Dipper's face with both of his hands, and glared at him. "Let's not bring up the little incident again, okay?"

"But why didn't you kill him?"

He let out an annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes. "Kill the main detective working on my case? Right after his little undercover kid gave him information? That wouldn't look fucking suspicious at all. Fuck kid, don't be fucking stupid. Now get dressed, and shut the fuck up about that PI. He'll be dealt with later."

Hoping to make Bill happy, he wore a blue shirt, since he knew Bill liked blue on him, and tight jeans, since Bill had also mentioned that he liked those as well.

It worked, and when Bill saw him coming out to the car, he smiled. "Perfect. Now, make sure to smile plenty for the cameras, and be the cute, shy thing they see you as."

"Can do."

Dipper felt relieved. He got off a little easier than he thought he would. All of his family was alive, he was alive, and even though he went through all of that torture, and that horrible week of his body changing, he felt fine. He had a bigger hold on Bill than he thought, and Bill couldn't really do all that much unless he wanted to cover up a lot of suspicious stuff.

That was comforting. At least, a little. He still had to worry about changing back, and how he was even going to bring Bill down. Hopefully Ford was finding what he needed, and would be able to bring out something solid enough to help put Bill away.

Again, that's all Dipper could do. Hope. Bill had broken his body, most of his mind, and his pride, but he still had a little bit of hope. Just enough to make it a little while longer.

 _ **AN: Welp, Dipdop is going to have a fun time visiting Crazyville. Hopefully he can come back. . .**_


	12. Losing Morals

_**AN: Sorry it took a little while. Personal life crap got in the way '^' Anyway, enjoy! :D**_

Dipper did as he was told while they were out on their date. Smiled and giggled at Bill, acting like he was the greatest thing to have ever walked on this earth. It was sickening, but he did it. He needed Bill to get back to where they were, so that he didn't have to micromanage everything that he did.

Not to mention he didn't want to put his family's life on the line. He couldn't kill Ford without it look suspicious, but he could probably stage an accident for his parents, or Stan, or- he didn't even want to think her name. He didn't know what he would do if Bill hurt her. Probably go crazy. Well, he was already crazy, at least, for now he was.

The voice would come randomly, and always when he looked another person right in the eyes. It didn't happen with Bill, but when ever he would meet the eyes of another person, it screamed in his head to murder them. And to eat them.

It made him shiver every time, but he had to try and act like it wasn't happening, so that no camera caught his sour face.

Bill of course was being extra affectionate for the cameras. He held Dipper's hand everywhere, kissed him every time they got close, and bought him everything that he even glanced at while they were at the mall.

"Why don't you stay here and get us some drinks? I want some soda, any soda. I'll be right back. Do. Not. Fuck up being alone." Bill handed him a credit card and walked off, leaving Dipper alone in the food court area.

He began to panic a little, as he noticed that people were looking at him.

 _I bet you could rip their eyes out. They wouldn't be staring at you for long if you did that!_

No, no, no, not the voice. Not while he was alone in a group of people.

He shook his head lightly, and took a deep breath. He could do this without killing anyone.

"Could I get two Pitt sodas?" Dipper kept his eyes down as he asked the girl working at the register and spoke a little quietly, feeling like he might sound intimidating if he tried to speak over the voice in his head.

"Aw, hun of course!" She rang him up and was beaming at him, trying to meet his stare as he handed her the card.

God people really did think he was a meek little thing. It was embarrassing. "Thanks." He tried to look up at her, but something in his chest felt like it got really tight, making him look back down at the counter between them.

She handed the drinks to him, and for a moment, he was able to look up at her.

There wasn't anything incredibly special about her. But oh man. If Dipper ever wanted to eat someone, it would be her.

Wait. No. Grab the sodas. Go find Bill.

He walked away quickly, his heart pounding in his chest and his mouth feeling dry. Thank god he had just gotten a drink.

Bill hadn't exactly said where to wait for him, so he just found a table and sat down, playing on his phone until finally Bill came back with a new bag. That was pure black.

"Uh, what'd you go get?" Dipper knew what was in black bags. Nothing good. Well, okay, they were good, but not in his situation.

"You'll see. What'd you get me?" Bill sat down and took a sip of Dipper's soda. "Hm. Alright. This works." He grabbed his own soda and sat right next to Dipper, wiggling as close as he could so that they were practically hugging.

"Really playin' it up for the media huh?" Dipper laughed.

Bill nudged his arm and took a sip from his soda before speaking. "Just keep a smile on your face and act happy that I'm this close to you."

Reluctantly, Dipper snuggled into Bill and sipped on his soda. "Fine."

The demon wrapped an arm around him and set his drink down so that he could get his cell phone from his pocket. "We're going out to another club tonight. Another one just for demons. I think you'll like it this time around."

"Are you going to eat anyone? I'd prefer to start mentally preparing myself now."

He laughed and pulled Dipper in close to kiss his head. "Look bashful. There's cameras."

Dipper didn't have to try and look embarrassed, because he was. Bill being so close to him with all those eyes on them. It was tough to keep his face from turning red.

After the panic-inducing trip to the mall, Bill dragged him back home, making sure they both looked perfect to go out to the club.

"Alright Pine Tree, let's go over the rules. You can fight back now if another demon picks a fight, but over half of them that will be there can still stomp a hole into you without even trying, so I would still advise not talking to strangers."

"Can, and will do." Dipper sat on Bill's bed as he watched him fix his hair and change shirts several times. It was almost funny how much Bill wanted to be seen as perfect.

"Also," he continued as he decided on a yellow designer T-shirt and black skinny jeans "also, you have to remember that what you are is not going to be looked at very kindly at first. Once they see that I don't give a fuck, they'll let it go." He slipped on one of his cargo jackets, this time a black and gray one, and zipped it up about halfway.

"Are there many demons that could honestly stand up to you and not die instantly? How'd you become so insanely powerful?"

Bill turned to Dipper and smiled at him. "Flattery will get you nowhere, kid. But, to answer your questions, not really, and because I'm me. I get what I want. Speaking of which, I want you to unbutton the top two buttons of your shirt. It'll look better that way."

He did as he was told, and cleared his throat. "I almost ate the girl at the checkout."

Bill let out a loud laugh and ruffled Dipper's hair. "I can help fix that. Let's head out."

This club took a while to get to. It was just outside of the city, and tucked away behind another building, that was just a large, mostly empty, office space.

"This doesn't seem like the kind of club you'd own." Dipper stared at the smaller building, watching the lights flicker through the front door and listening to the pounding bass from inside. "Not as flashy. Seems like a normal club."

"Yes, well, that's the point. This club is special. It'll be perfect for you right now."

Before Dipper could ask why, Bill tugged at his arm and pulled him into the small building.

It smelled like cigarettes, booze, and more of that horrible fake fog. It was nothing but dance floor, a small bar in the corner being the only place that people weren't dancing. There was a very clear entrance to the basement, and it didn't look like anyone was even guarding it. Of course, it was all demons, but these ones definitely looked like maybe they weren't the "higher class" that Bill would usually associate with.

Bill took him to the elevator, and nearly shoved him in it. When the doors closed, he stayed quiet until they reached the bottom, then pulled something rolled up from his jacket pocket. "You'll be wearing this while we're here." He unrolled the leather thing from his pocket, then wrapped it around Dipper's neck, securing it tightly.

It was a collar.

"Really?"

Bill yanked it forward, making Dipper yelp and fall onto him. "I don't think you realize I'm still mad at you. Now hush and be a good pet." From his other pocket, Bill pulled a thin, but long chain and hooked it to the front of the collar. "Before I open the doors, I need you to change."

"C-change?" Dipper blinked at him. Was he going to make him take his clothes off too or something?

He took a deep breath in, then as he let it out, his blue fire engulfed the small space, and his demon features slowly started to show.

"You mean I can make myself look like that again?" Dipper gulped, and realized how tight the collar was on his throat. "Also, t-this is a bit tight."

Bill rolled his eyes. "Yes. Now change, or I'm dragging you in there. And I don't care."

"Right, of course not." Dipper took a deep breath and tried to think of what would make him change back into. . . that thing. Not really a demon? he guessed. But also still kind of.

Bill yanked at the chain and glared at him. "Think of killing stuff."

Okay, killing stuff. He had been repressing those thoughts all day, but now he needed them. "I-I can't."

"Think about the girl at the counter. Didn't you want to cut her open?"

 _I bet she tastes like chocolate! Maybe strawberries dipped in chocolate! Mmm!_

Something in his chest started to burn after the voice yelled that at him. It was almost like something inside of him was trying to desperately grab the air around him, and his gut felt a strange burning feeling, as if there was someone pushing their hand into his stomach. He gasped at the sudden sensations, and nearly fell over. "W-what's it doing?"

"Just breath in and out and focus on killing. Once you change the pressure will go away. Well, for a minute anyway. Until you smell the blood."

Dipper's eyes widened, and at that point he didn't want to change, but Bill mentioning the blood pushed him over the edge.

It felt like he was being singed by a sudden, intense fire, and some of the pressure in his chest came upwards, feeling as if it pushed out his sharp teeth, and made his eyes blur for a moment, making him a bit dizzy and lightheaded.

"There you go! Now come on."

The doors opened to what Dipper was pretty sure could be described as an actual pool of blood. It was a fairly small room, with no booths, just couches and chairs along the walls, where demons sat, all covered in blood, chewing on various parts of torn apart bodies.

Usually, Dipper would gag at the sight. He would slam his eyes shut so that he didn't have to see the razor sharp teeth pulling at tendons and muscle, and hold his breath so that the thick, warm smell of blood wouldn't assault his nose. But now, he was staring in awe at it all. The vibrant color of the blood, the harsh sudden white of the bones poking out from under the red flesh.

It was disgusting, but man did he really want to take part in it.

No, no. Sit and close your eyes, dammit. Dipper cringed. Those were his own thoughts saying that. Not the voice, but him actually wanting to eat another human.

As they walked through the puddles of blood, demons gawked at him. He was probably a freak to them. Bill had said he was "illegal", for some reason.

Bill planted himself on one of the empty love-seats in the back of the room, one of the only ones not covered in blood, and yanked Dipper down onto his lap. "Sit."

Geez, he had to treat him like a pet too? Dipper sat on Bill, mostly, making sure he wasn't directly in front of his view of the room. He ended up being squished between Bill and the armrest of the couch, with Bill's arm wrapped around him.

"Cipher, I see you've kept the human. Well, I suppose he's not much of that anymore." Shawn, the demon responsible for the death of Jason, his office's usual tech guy, entered the room from the elevator, looking as if he were disgusted with the air around him.

Bill sighed and pulled Dipper further onto his lap. "And?"

The room had gone silent, all watching the interaction between the two. Dipper found it a little strange that Bill became almost protective of him when this demon was around. He seemed like Bill's right hand man, and was probably one of the demons not too thrilled about Bill's sudden obsession with keeping a human around.

"Only you, Bill," Shawn laughed. He sauntered over to the couch and sat next to Bill, looking as if he really didn't want to even sit on the couch. He had a "high and mighty" presence about him, and it made Dipper want to reach over and punch him.

It was his fault that Jason was dead, and now he was sitting here, acting like he was too good to even be in the same room as Dipper.

Dipper didn't want to even look at him, so he kept his head down, avoiding the demon's black eyes.

"Anyway, on a subject other than the one where you think you can question me, how comes the Round? It's in two days, are you ready?"

The black-eyed demon kept his stare on Dipper, and nodded. "Sure. I've got the place, the people, and the time. You won't be bringing your pet, will you?"

Bill's hand went up to Dipper's hair, where he began to idly play with it. "And what if I do?"

Shawn's eyes darted to Bill and he bared his teeth. "We can't trust him in the Round! He's a little fuck up who doesn't know his place. Maybe if you weren't so soft for him it this wouldn't be a problem."

In a split second, Bill was out from underneath Dipper, and on top of Shawn, holding his throat. His flames nearly filled the room, and his eyes were so intense that they were glowing. Squeezing Shawn's throat, Bill growled and put his face close to his.

"I keep you around because you're useful, not because I value your fucking opinion. I'll have you know I'm anything but soft for this damn plaything, and I'm using him to up my popularity with the humans. Nothing, fucking else. I know what I'm doing. Don't. Fucking. Question me. Or I'll send you back to the fucking void. Have I made myself clear?"

To Dipper's surprise, Shawn didn't seem all that phased by Bill. Was he strong enough not to worry about it? Of course, the demon that had broken his arm didn't flinch at Bill, and Bill was obviously a lot stronger than it was.

"Transparently."

Bill moved back and grabbed Dipper's chain, pulling him to stand up so that they could sit back how they were. "Good. Now leave here. All you do anymore is interrupt my down time."

"Fine then." Shawn got up and left, still holding his head high as elevator doors closed behind him.

As Bill snuggled back underneath Dipper, he sighed in annoyance. "Don't worry about him. I've made it nice and clear that if another demon touches you they'll be ripped back into hell."

Dipper looked out into the room of demons, who had resumed chatting and eating. His teeth seemed to be tingling at the site, and it made him a little nauseous.

 _Bill would so let you eat someone. All you have to do is ask!_

He gulped and tried to steady his breath. The smell of blood was making the pressure in his chest build, and his gut felt like it was on fire.

Bill laughed at his discomfort. "Aw, my little pet wants to eat someone. I can bring someone down," he sang.

"No," he said quickly. "I'm not going to."

"Aw but you're all flustered. Your hair is all puffy, your eyes are wide, and you look so focused. It's so adorable, how could I say no to those big ol' eyes?" Bill was teasing him, and it made Dipper even more uncomfortable.

"I don't want to." Dipper looked away from Bill and huffed.

Bill jerked the chain and made Dipper face him.

The tight collar made him cough a bit, and he tried to avert his eyes from Bills.

"Don't you act all prissy. Now that you did that, I'm going to make you."

"M-make me do what?" Dipper looked up and started to shake a little bit.

"What the fuck do you think?" Bill wiggled out from his seat and pulled on Dipper's chain. "C'mon."

Dipper hesitated, which resulted in Bill pulling him up by the collar, forcing him to stand up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound prissy. I-I won't do it again." He hated to plead with the demon, but he figured it might save him from the punishment that Bill was about to dish out.

Bill kept walking and ignored Dipper's sorrys and pleads, taking him to a door near the front of the room that Dipper hadn't noticed before. The demon shoved him in, and followed, closing the door behind them.

 _Finally! Messy, squishy flesh and gore!_

"No, please, Bill, I really don't want to. I-I'll be good!" Dipper fought a little against the tugs and started to hyperventilate. He knew Bill wouldn't care, but maybe the pleading would help. Hopefully. God, he didn't want to eat someone.

The room was dark and Dipper couldn't see anything except for Bill's eyes, and he pushed himself up against the door.

"B-Bill, please, I promise i-it won't happen again. I-I'm sorry."

A light turned on and Bill was standing in front of him, smirking. The room was like his other lounge at the Blue Glow, but much smaller and had more black than yellow, and only had a couch and a small bar area.

"Oh? And what are you sorry for, exactly?" He pulled Dipper over to the bar, and watched him as he poured himself a drink.

Dipper slowed his breathing and looked down, biting at his lip. Which felt weird, now that he had sharp teeth, and he had to be careful not to cut himself with them. "I-I'm sorry for lying. I'm sorry for t-trying to give Ford the flash drive, and I'm s-sorry for acting out." God he was hoping that's what Bill wanted. He didn't know what he would do if Bill was going to force him to eat someone.

"Hm." He swished his drink around in the shot glass before drinking it all in one large gulp. "I suppose that will do."

He let out a sigh of relief and felt as if he could pass out. The pressure in his chest hadn't gone away, and he was using that to keep himself alert. The relief of Bill forgiving him was almost too much and it put his head straight into the clouds. "S-so I don't have to eat someone?"

Bill opened a small fridge under the bar, and got out an unmarked bottle. "I'll think about it. I kind of want to get you a little drunk before anything though." He began to mix a few of the drinks into a small blender, and even got some fruit from the fridge to make them into smoothies. "I like to have them stock the fridge before I get here so I can make drinks like this. This so far is my favorite drink. Close your eyes."

"Okay?" Dipper squished his eyes closed and took a deep breath.

"There's a secret ingredient I have to add," he chuckled.

Dipper jumped when the blender started, since he wasn't prepared for the sudden noise, and Bill laughed at him.

"You can open them now!" he shouted over the blender.

The noise stopped and Bill started to pour it into two tall glasses.

"Chug it. It'll get you drunk faster that way." He handed him the drink, and smiled in a way that made Dipper feel a little weary.

He took the drink and stared down at it for a moment. He wanted to ask what was in it, and he wanted so badly to not be drunk while around Bill, but he knew he had to drink it without question, or it would piss Bill off.

Taking in a deep breath, he lifted it to his lips, and began gulping it down. As he drank he almost laughed at himself. Every time Bill makes him drink something, it turns out badly for him, why the fuck did he trust this? But, it did taste like it was only alcohol and fruit. In fact, it was really good. The pressure in his chest even relaxed at the chill it gave him and his body happily finished it off, ignoring the strange feeling of his throat hitting on the collar with each gulp.

Some of it spilled a little down the side of his mouth, and he had to lick at his face when he moved the glass away from his lips.

"Feeling better?" Bill took the glass and was smirking.

Oh, god. Smirks were never a good thing from him. "Y-yeah. Thanks. For the drink and not punishing me." Ick, he hated being that way towards Bill. But it had to be done.

Bill let out a loud laugh and tapped Dipper on the head a little harshly. "You think I wouldn't still punish you? I accepted your apology, but the punishment was dished. I told you I'd think about it. And I did, as I was making the drink, I thought, how can I fuck with him without much fussing from him? And luckily," he brought pulled Dipper closer with the chain and grinned from ear to ear "flesh blends really easily and goes great with alcohol."

 _ **AN: Bill's a real jerk, ain't he? Poor Dipper. Never trust Bill. Anyway, I may start trying to put these out on either Thursdays or Saturday's now. I have personal stuff that might make it hard to update as often as I usually do, and I also want to work on my other fic, so we may only be getting these updates once or twice (if I'm lucky) a week. Sorry**_ _ **･**_ _ **_**_ _ **･**_


	13. Bravery of the Seamstress

_**AN: Whoo, I was able to update! Enjoy a chapter of confusion and a new familiar face ;D**_

Dipper was furious. He couldn't exactly yell at Bill though, or hit him like he really, _really_ wanted to. He was also sickened by himself, deeply. Not just by the fact that he had just _drank flesh,_ but because he _didn't want to barf it back up._ His body was perfectly content with what it had just done, and the pressure in his chest had even lifted.

The biggest downside right then, was that it also made him drunk, so even if he could yell at Bill, he wouldn't be able to spit out the words without messing up or slurring them.

He stood and stared down at the ground with wide eyes for a good five minutes, Bill laughing as he finished his own drink.

"And yes, I plan to take full advantage of your drunkenness," Bill laughed.

"Y-you just made me eat someone, now you expect me to be up for, for sex?" Dipper tried to lean against the wall, but Bill pulled him forward and made him lean onto him.

"Well, the fun stuff will come later. For now," he pulled Dipper's chain closer and mashed his lips into his. "Demon kisses are my favorite. Always have liked you little halflings."

Dipper cringed at the kiss, but let it happen. "So you've done this before then?"

Bill laughed and let his grip on the chain loosen. "I tried to have another pet once, yes. Jealous?"

"God no. What happened to him?"

"Her," he corrected. "I found out very quickly that she wasn't my type and that I don't much like the taste of women. Nothing against them, it's just what the pallet wants."

He nodded and touched at his lips. He had just gulped down flesh. How disgusting. But. . . also really good.

No. Not good. He shook his head and cleared his throat. "My head is starting to spin already."

"Good! The night is still young. We should go dance." Bill grabbed the chain and pulled Dipper back out of the room, and straight over to the elevator. "The collar stays on until we leave this building. If we get separated, then wait by the bar for me. Do not talk to anyone here unless I'm there. Alright?"

Dipper nodded quickly. "Can do."

When the elevator stopped at the top, Bill put his hand on Dipper's face. "You're going to need to change back."

"How?"

Bill closed his eyes and took a several deep breaths, his features looking more and more human with each one. "Relax. Think of something that grounds your humanity."

Dipper was taken aback by the tone of Bill's voice. It was calm, and almost soothing. And how did Bill turn back if he didn't have something that made him human? Did Bill have anything that made him human? His body, sure, but even that could turn into a monster. What did Bill have that was even remotely human to focus on?

"You're over thinking this kid," he chuckled. "C'mon, just do it. You're wasting time." His voice went back to its usual harsh, snarky tone.

"Alright, sorry." Dipper closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. What made him human? What made him want to be human?

His family. Mabel. Stan. Ford. Wendy. Even the janitor at the office, Soos, was someone he considered family. They were all so special to him, and they had always been the ones to encourage him to be a better person. Especially Mabel. God, he missed Mabel.

"Well, whatever you did, it worked." Bill tugged at him as the doors opened and dragged him out onto the dance floor.

Dipper hadn't even felt himself change back. He was so happy, thinking about his family, that it had made him ignore the world around him for a moment.

Well, at least he had found a happy place to escape to, when things were bad. He would definitely be using that from then on.

Bill was surprisingly really good at dancing, the music was loud, the beat was good, and Dipper was drunk, so he figured, what the hell. It would probably make Bill happier if he danced anyway, so he might as well.

As they danced, Bill seemed to be getting grabby, putting his hands on Dipper's sides and pulling him closer. It felt nice, as much as Dipper hated to admit it, and he happily grinded on the demon, hoping that it was what he wanted.

Bill did seem to enjoy the dancing. His warm body pressed up against Dipper's, their hands occasionally findings each other's; it was nice. Almost euphoric in Dipper's drunken state.

At one point, they had pulled each other close, Bill pressing his warm lips onto Dipper's and tugging him closer with one hand on his hips and the other in his hair. It made Dipper breathless for a moment, and he leaned into this kiss more than he would have liked to. The tingling sensation it gave him was nearly overwhelming. He was so warm, and inviting right then.

It made Dipper so sick and confused. When Bill pulled away, he found himself leaning forward a bit to try and make it last a little longer. It was horrible that he wanted Bill's lips pressed back to his. Awful. Disgusting. But, it had felt so nice while in his inebriated state.

An hour or so passed, and finally Bill tugged Dipper away from the dance floor, and to the front door of the club, chuckling at Dipper's almost disappointed look.

"Let's go home. I think we can call it a night."

Dipper didn't much care that Bill had forgotten to take the collar off, since there didn't seem to be anyone around to see him anyway, but he did mind that Bill was driving.

"Aren't you a little drunk to be driving one of your cars? These things have a lot of power behind them."

"You think I haven't done this plenty of times before?" he laughed. "Just shut up and get in."

On the way back, Dipper started to get nervous. Bill had said that the "fun" would come later, and it was starting to look like later. Even though they had just danced so intimately, he still wasn't fond of the idea of sex with him.

"C-can I take the collar off?" Dipper asked as they pulled into the driveway.

Bill nodded and yawned. "I was planning on using it while we fucked, but I'm too tired to be that active. You will be staying in my bed tonight though, just because I feel like it. Having someone else in the bed is nice because I get to hit you in my sleep."

Damn it Dipper knew he did that on purpose. "Fine, fine," he chuckled.

Dipper was actually a little thankful that he was drunk. It made falling asleep next to Bill so easy, and it helped him sleep a lot deeper than he had been able to in a long while. Though he was woken up a few times by Bill's hands in his face, he actually slept really well.

In the morning, Dipper woke up to Bill pacing the room, looking a little distressed.

". . . Bill? What's wrong?" God, he sounded like his wife or something.

Bill almost looked surprised to see Dipper awake, but just looked away and ignored him.

He shrugged it off and rubbed at his forehead. He didn't usually get hangovers, but there was a ringing in his head and he still felt groggy.

"News," Bill said suddenly.

Dipper had learned that he had to try and figure out what Bill meant by his short answers, so he thought for a moment about what "news" could mean. He plucked his cell phone off of the nightstand, and opened up his news app. That had to be what Bill meant. He was always so worried about his image, and he would only ever look this worried if there had been some sort of blow to it.

"Cipher mistreats boyfriend, treats him like property?" Dipper mumbled the headline out loud to himself, as he looked at the picture underneath it. It was of Bill holding his "leash" while they walked out of the club. "Cipher took his unnamed boyfriend out last night to one of his lesser known clubs so that he wouldn't be seen dragging his boyfriend around. People are beginning to wonder if the reason he is so shy is because billionaire Bill Cipher is abusive."

His eyes widened at the article. He saw that it didn't have many views on it, and most of the comments were about it probably being a sex thing, but he still couldn't believe someone was trying to dig into Bill like that.

"Someone tipped them off that we were there. I only ever get media around me when I want the media around me. Not to mention someone has it out for our relationship. It has to be one of my demons that did this." Bill stopped pacing and stared down at Dipper.

"But who?"

Bill sat on the bed and shrugged. "I don't know. They probably wanted something from the human that wrote this and made a deal with them, giving a 'juicy story' for whatever it was that they wanted. This doesn't seem like this writer's usual writing anyway."

Geez, he even knew how different reporters wrote? Dipper was actually a little impressed at the demon's devotion to his plans to stay an angel in the eyes of the media. Not like he would say that out loud, but still. "How are you going to find out who did it?"

"Don't know that yet either, Pine Tree. For now though, we have a relationship to fix. Want to go out?"

Dipper let out a genuine laugh and stared back at Bill. "You're asking? I didn't think I had a choice."

"Oh, you don't. Go shower, get dressed, and look cute. And, maybe try to be more open while we're out. They don't need to know that I beat you."

The way he said that, so condescending and harsh, made Dipper pull his head back out from the clouds. Bill did hurt him. Bill killed people. He was a terrible, inhuman thing that had hurt him. He had to remind himself of that. He couldn't forget his main goal. Stop Bill. Stop the horrible demon from killing billions of people. Stop him from feeding humans to his demon friends.

"Sure." He got out of the bed, his face solemn. How could he have been so, buddy-buddy with Bill right then? He had killed a friend of his over the flash drive, and had just hours before forced him to drink flesh.

As he showered, he beat himself up mentally. This was fake. The way he acted with Bill was fake. He didn't want to smile at him, or hold his hand, much less sleep in the same bed as him. It was fake, for the sake of his family, and for humans in general. Then why didn't it feel fake?

"Pine Tree, finally," Bill laughed as Dipper entered the kitchen. "We need to have a nice quiet date, where we'll be barely seen. If we go all out it'll look forced, as if we're shoving it in their faces. It has to look natural."

"Okay." He sat at the table across from Bill, and watched as the demon bit down into a pastry.

"Want one? They're really good," he sang.

There was a plate of the croissant-looking things that were covered in a jam in the middle of the table, and Dipper shrugged as he took one, then bit into it. It was really good, and he ate the thing in just a few bites.

"Good, huh? I own a bakery and I have them deliver here every so often. The, uh, shops pretty close to this little boutique that started up a little while ago. I was thinking we could go there today." Bill looked at Dipper with raised eyebrows and a smirk. "It's owned by this little brunette. She looks a lot like you, actually."

Dipper's heart skipped a beat and he felt like the air had been punched out of his lungs. "M-Mabel?"

"I've only seen her twice now. She was wearing this hair clip that looked like a shooting star, so I decided that is her name now. Shooting Star. Just like how you got your nickname from your shirt."

He slammed his fist down on the table and without trying, he felt his body flare up and it changed into his demonic form. "Don't you dare nickname her! If you even think about hurting her, I swear to God I will find a way to send you straight back to Hell!"

Rather than get angry, Bill started to laugh, really hard. "O-Oh! Pine Tree! That's gold! Are you sure you aren't a comedian?" Bill stood up and went over to the fridge, pulling out a few things that Dipper couldn't see, while trying to stop his laughter.

The pressure in his chest was suddenly super intense, and his gut felt like he was being stabbed. He would have to remember that getting that worked up was a very bad idea, and that he would have to learn to keep his cool.

"Now you've gone and worked your body up. We can't go out with you like this, so take your pic. Want it blended into a drink, or wanna try it raw?"

 _Yay, more flesh! Raw! Your teeth will feel so good tearing into it!_

"Neither!" Dipper snapped. He knew that was going to piss Bill off, but his body felt so angry, and he felt hot and just wanted to stay hunched over and wait it out.

Bill didn't get mad, though. He just rolled his eyes and got out a blender. "Drink it is."

"I don't want to!"

"Pine Tree," Bill snapped. "The harder you fight these urges, the worse they get. It shouldn't even be bothering you this much, but it is, because you're fighting it so hard. The harder you push, the harder it pushes back. I can't have you going rogue on me and killing people for fun."

Dipper took a deep breath and tried really hard to calm himself down. If coming to terms with his new cravings meant making them easier to handle, then fine. "How can I not fight it?"

Bill waited to respond until after the blender stopped, and sighed. "You tell me. Does the voice argue with you? If it does, then just agree with it. Just because you say yes in your head, doesn't mean that you have to do it. It'll make it stop trying so hard. And if it's just your body freaking out, then let it. That pressure in your chest? Ignore it. Don't think about it. It'll go away."

"Why are you helping me through this? I thought you'd want me to be down with eating people." Dipper looked up at Bill, who was bringing the glass over to him.

"Trust me, I'm going to love the day when you willingly tear into someone's throat, but like I said before, I can't have you going crazy over it. So, for now, I'm helping you control it. Now, drink this so that we can go out."

Dipper stared at it for a moment. "It doesn't have alcohol in it, does it?"

"Nope. Pure human smoothie with strawberries, bananas, and whatever other fruit I had in the fridge."

He took a deep breath and nodded. He had already done it once, and it wasn't like he was any kind of vegetarian anyway. Plus it would help keep him from feeling the urges around Mabel.

Once the glass was empty, Dipper cringed and slide it away from him. It was good. And that was disgusting.

The pressure in his chest faded, and he felt his body start to change back, since he was thinking of Mabel, and how he wanted to keep her safe from Bill, and himself.

"Perfect. You're doing great kid. You ready to see your sister?"

Dipper nodded. "Are we just going to tell my family that you know then? Ford might get suspicious after everything that's happened."

"Easy fix. Just tell them you were worried that your cover was blown, so you just came clean with me, and that you're staying because you actually like me and want to."

"Ford's probably seen the videos, he knows what you are."

"What _we_ are," he corrected. "And I don't mind. He'll sound crazy if he starts talking about demons, and if he shows those videos to anyone, they'll think he faked them in desperation to put me away. You guys have been working my case for a while now." He paused and ran his fingers through Dipper's hair. "What started the digging anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know, the missing people?" he snapped. "That and a higher class family asked us to. They were suspicious as to how you got so rich so fast."

Bill laughed and put his other hand on Dipper's head too, idly playing with his hair. "Northwest, I assume. Their hands are almost as bloody as mine are. Their daughter doesn't seem to be following them so closely, but she's still a bitch."

"You've met her?" Dipper leaned back in the chair and relaxed. He loved it when Bill played with his hair. Just another thing he would never say out loud.

The demon chuckled as Dipper turned to dough under his hands. "A few times. She and her family have attended dinners thrown by other wealthy people. It's good for business, you get to work out trades and deals with others, but I fucking hate putting on my human face for that long. They tend to last a while and it is exhausting."

"So anyway," Dipper interrupted to bring the demon back on track "what do I tell Ford?"

"That you want to stay. Tell him you've found something big, but can't share it yet, and that you need to keep it up for a while in order to see it through. Use your imagination and best judgment. Figure out what he'll believe."

"Mhmm," he mumbled. Bill's hands were going to put him to sleep if he kept that up.

He laughed again and pulled his hands away from Dipper's head. "Alright, let's go see Star."

Mabel started her day off like any other; ate a quick breakfast, brushed her teeth, then pulled on whatever outfit stuck out first. Which was usually sweats and a T-shirt, but she didn't mind the look. It fit her ever busy lifestyle.

She had plenty of orders to fill, and would be sewing and knitting for most of that day, tucked away in the back room of her shop.

The store was her dream, but it was more work than she ever thought it would be. As tired as she was though, she loved it. And it was making her some decent money too.

"Morning!" she exclaimed as she burst through the doors of Ford's office. She tried to bring him fresh coffee and donuts when she could, since she knew he didn't get out of his work often enough to get such luxuries.

He looked so tired. Even more so than she did. She hadn't seen in him a little while, and it made her worry a little.

"How goes the investigation? Is Dipper doing okay? I saw that weird article this morning about the whole, Bill abusing him thing."

Ford looked up at her and smiled weakly. "He says he loves you. And that he wishes he could see the boutique."

The tone of voice he used made Mabel tremble. "I-is he okay?"

"I'll be honest with you sweetie. I don't know. He gave me some. . . interesting evidence, and before I could have someone look at it, we were attacked and my friend was murdered. Whoever did it took Dipper's badge and the evidence. If it was someone working for Bill, then he may be in trouble. Now, I did check in with him, and he sounded fine, but that was a little while ago, and I haven't heard from him since. The most I know about him is what I see in the news. So Bill may actually be hurting him."

She couldn't help but let a few tears escape, and she tried really hard not to break down. She couldn't lose Dipper, and definitely didn't want him stuck in a bad situation like that. He was her other half. They might not have spoken much lately, but the bond was still there. It always would be. With a sniffle, she nodded. "I'll keep an ear and eye out for him. Hopefully he knows what he's doing."

Ford nodded and took a sip of the coffee she had placed in front of him. "He is smart. He's got a good head on his shoulders. It may need some. . . nudging, every so often, but he always figures everything out. Just know that he loves you, no matter what."

She nodded and took a deep breath before wiping her face and smiling. There was no way she was giving up on her brother that quickly. Ford was right. Dipper was smart and would figure it out. "Alright, well, we're both busy adults now, and I should be getting to work. Love you."

"You too sweety."

Finishing off her own coffee as she got into her office, Mabel tossed the garbage into an overflowing trash bin, and scoffed at the mess. She was usually so organized and clean, but with how busy she was, she was starting to act more like her twin, and not mind the mess.

Thinking about him made her sad again. It was hard enough not seeing him, now she had to worry if he was even going to make it back to her alive.

No. She had to have faith in him. He was okay. Everything was going to be okay.

She began to busy herself with her latest request, hoping to keep her mind off of it, but after just a few stitches, she pinned the shirt and let it fall back onto her desk. Maybe she should go check on her employee up front.

The young girl who reminded her a lot of herself when she was younger, wasn't right at the checkout area, but instead was standing next to a tall blond and a brunette, talking to them about the pre-made clothing Mabel had put out.

She thought for a moment if she should go talk to them, and almost decided against it, but figured it might help get her mind off of Dipper.

"Hey, everything alright over here? If you have any questions about making an order, I'm your gal! I make everything here!"

Before he could even fully turn around, a lump formed in Mabel's throat, and she nearly started bawling.

Dipper. He was there, he was okay, and she could talk to him.

"I'm stealing this one for a minute!" she chirped before grabbing his arm and forcing him to follow he into the back room.

Dipper could hear the girl apologize to Bill a bunch about how Mabel could be sometimes, but Bill just laughed it off and said it was perfectly fine.

Once the door was shut, and the twins were alone in the cluttered office, Mabel pulled him into a tight hug and started to tremble.

"I missed you so much," she said softly.

God Dipper wanted to cry with her. He wanted so badly to sob and tell her everything, to open up and get all of this off of his chest. But he couldn't focus on that. Bill and Mabel were within one hundred feet of each other, and that was the thing he had to worry about.

"I-I missed you too, Mabel."

She pulled back suddenly and had her face scrunched in anger. "He's not really hurting you, is he? I don't even care if I blow your cover, I will go in there and sew him to the wall while I torture him with needles."

Dipper couldn't help but laugh at the idea of his sister actually trying to fight Bill. "The situation is complicated, but he's not hurting me." He had to try and keep his facial features in check, since Mabel had a way of telling when he was lying.

She gave him a stern look, but then nodded. "Okay. How goes the being undercover thing anyway? I didn't expect you to become his boyfriend."

"I didn't either," he chuckled. "And. . . well, I got into a situation that made me worry that I was going to be found out anyway, so I just kind of confessed to Bill what the deal was, and he said he still wanted to be with me if I wanted it, so. . . I'm still with him."

Her eyes widened. "So, then, you actually really like him?"

The question hit Dipper in a strange way. Lately he didn't know what the fuck his head was feeling, so he wasn't even sure how to answer the question honestly to himself. As horrible as it was, the night before was definitely less than awful, and it made his stupid, stupid head start to think things. Horrible things that he wasn't ready to admit to just yet.

Either way he felt though, he had to tell Mabel what she needed to hear for Bill to be happy.

"He's really interesting. I really didn't mean for it to turn into anything, but. . . well, you know."

Mabel's face went from confused and sad to a sly grin. " _Oooh_ , Dipper's in love," she sang.

"No!" he said quickly. "I-I mean, not, not yet. Just. He's really interesting, okay?"

"Sure, interesting. Not to mention he has looks, money, and is, from what I hear, so nice that it's almost jarring. So, interesting. Sure bro-bro." She backed away from him and motioned for him to leave the room. "Can I meet the lucky guy?"

He almost told her no, and wanted so badly to tell her that he was dangerous, but cringed and nodded. "Please don't embarrass me in front of my boyfriend."

"Wouldn't dream of it!" she teased. She darted from the office room, not waiting for Dipper to follow, and made her way straight over to the blond.

He turned to face her and smiled sweetly. "Nice shop you have here."

She took a strong stance, her legs shoulder width apart, put on hand on her hip and used the other to strongly point her finger right in Bill's face, all while keeping a large smile on her face. "My name is Mabel Pines, and if you hurt my brother, I will be the last thing you ever see!"

 _ **AN: Super happy that I was able to put out a long(ish) chapter for this! I love working on this story so much, and hate that I can't put all of my time into it. If I had the time, I would edit it and make it sooo much cleaner, but right now I'm okay with how it is turning out. Anyway, if you ever have any questions, or just want to talk, feel free! I'm busy, but never too busy to answer you guys :D I love you all and you're all amazing, keep it up! :) Next update should take about the same time this one did (about three or four days), and will be filled with gore, so look forward to that!**_


	14. Confessions of the Mad Man

_**AN: Enjoy this long, campy chapter. I hope it's not terrible. I've been in a really bad place (again, yeah life isn't great) and had a hard time writing this chapter out. I'm seeing someone for it now though, so hopefully my writing will pick up as well.**_

 _ **I hope you guys like it anyway though! :D**_

 _ **(Also please remember I do this late at night if you see errors point them out to me nicely and I will be happy to fix them okay thx bye)**_

There wasn't much Dipper could do to stop the two from interacting at that point. Mabel had made her point, loud and clear, and wasn't about to take anything but a, "yes ma'am!" from Bill.

Bill blinked at her for a moment, then his smile turned into a playful smirk. "Well, someone has some fire to them! I was half expecting you to be as quiet as your brother," he chuckled.

Dipper glared back at Bill. It was still really strange to see him acting so human. Comforting though, to know that he would act this way in front of his family, rather than being himself.

"Dip has always been the quiet nerdy one, where I'm the one who tells it like it is!" She remained in her stance but put her other arm down so that both of them were on her hips.

He stared at his twin with a warm smile. It was almost as if his presence had brought her new life, and she was filled with enough energy to lap the city twice. It made him feel bad for not talking to her for so long. How could he have been so selfish to leave her like that?

"That's good! You must've taken all the fun with you out of the womb!" Bill sauntered over to Dipper, and put an arm around his shoulders.

Mabel saw something in her brother's face as Bill wrapped his arm around him, and it made her a little weary of their relationship. His expression was almost pained for a split second, and she could feel his discomfort. She wasn't going to say anything though. If Dipper had lied to her, then he had a reason to, and she wasn't going to blow any plans he had brewing.

"So, you two have big plans today?" She smiled warmly at Bill, even though she kind of wanted to slap him. Something about him screamed asshole after the face Dipper made.

"Just going around town. When your brother told me about you, I figured we should pop in and say hello."

She kept her warm smile, but figured she could probe a little as to what was going on with their relationship. "So," she asked as she adjusted a hanger "relationship started a bit rocky to say the least, huh?" she chuckled.

Bill tightened his grip a little on Dipper and it made Dipper gulp. Bringing up the whole lying thing seemed to really piss Bill off.

"Yes, well, we had a nice long talk about lying, didn't we Pine Tree?"

He nodded and smiled back at Mabel. "We're good now."

"Pine Tree?" she giggled. "That a pet name?"

Dipper cringed when she said pet. He was starting to believe that's exactly what he was to Bill, and he wanted to rub at his neck where the collar had been. Ugh, how could he be feeling warm and fuzzy for someone who dragged him around like a dog?

Bill chuckled and let his arm fall from Dipper's shoulders. "I'm big on giving people nicknames. Not because I can't remember their names, or because I don't like them, it's just something I think is fun to do. Yours is Shooting Star."

She smiled and let out a small squeal. "Oh, I love it! That gives me an idea for an entire outfit!" She nearly ran off back to her office to start drawing, but stopped herself and chuckled nervously. "Sorry, I tend to start drawing as soon as I get an idea, I don't mean to run off."

"No, no, of course! We'd better head out anyway. Lots to do in the next few days! It was nice meeting you, Star." Bill reached his hand out for her to shake, but instead Mabel wrapped her arms around the two of them.

"It was good seeing you two! Dipper, call me sometime, alright? I'm here for you." She moved back from them and looked Dipper in the eyes. "I'm up all the time, so whenever you need me, let me know."

He nodded and looked back at her, hoping that she felt his distress. Bill was dangerous, and he wanted so badly for her to know that without him outright saying it to her. Hopefully once he spoke with Ford about everything, he would tell her not to get too friendly with Bill.

Once they said their goodbyes, and Dipper gave her his new number, they went back out to the car and started to head off to wherever Bill had planned to go next.

Dipper stared out the window as the buildings passed, and thought about what he was going to tell Ford. There was no way he was going to mention that Bill had turned him into one of those things, and he had to figure out how to get him to be around Bill without trying to shoot him.

That raised a flag in Dipper's head. Bill wouldn't die from getting shot, would he? How did demons die? He had seen Bill rip ones heart out, and that had killed it, but that was a weaker demon. Did powerful demons die the same way? If so, then why had Bill threatened Shawn by holding his throat?

His head was swimming with questions, but they were ones that he would have to try and figure out on his own later. For now, he needed to figure out where Bill was taking him.

"So, what are we up to now?"

"You ever stop thinking kid?" Bill said, ignoring his question.

"W-what? What do you mean?"

Bill rolled his eyes and lightly whacked Dipper in the shoulder. "I can see you out of the corner of my eye, staring off into space. You need to start living in the now. You'd be able to see exactly where we are, if you'd pull your head out of your ass for five minutes."

Dipper turned his head to look back out the window, and saw that they were pulling up to an upscale sex shop. He paled in the face and nearly whimpered. The whole sex thing still wasn't something he wanted, and hoped it never would be.

"Calm down, we're just here for a specific outfit for you. Maybe if something catches my eye, we'll get that too, but for now, all I have planned is the outfit." Bill looked over at Dipper as he shut the car off. and saw that he was shaking and his face was red.

Dipper really didn't want to go in. He was certain that he would be completely unable to function as soon as he walked in and saw the merchandise. It wasn't like he wasn't interested in having sex, it was just that the thought of sex with Bill was too much for him. Not like it was all bad, it's just that most of it was. The fact that he would come out of it with new scars wasn't something he was very fond of.

"Yeesh, you can stay in the car," Bill chuckled. "But, if you do, then I get to pick out a surprise, that you won't get to see until later."

He groaned and let his head fall back onto the headrest. There was no way he could go in there. At least in the bedroom no one had to see him in such an embarrassing situation. "I'm staying in the car," he mumbled.

Bill laughed and shook his head. "It's like an invitation to torture you. I think someone likes it," he sang.

"Just hurry back."

Once Dipper was left alone with his thoughts, he tried to think of his next game plan with Bill. He couldn't do anything else behind his back without worrying about his family, and he wasn't sure Bill would decide to keep him a second time around.

He would need to stick around long enough to find out how to change himself back, that was for sure. He didn't know if he could live with the cravings and the voice for the rest of his life. That was another thing he was still wondering about. What happens when he dies? Does he turn into a demon like Bill did?

A slight headache made him cringe as he realized he was thinking too hard. He had to simplify his thoughts.

First thing he needed to do; Find Bill's weakness. Next thing; find out how to change back. How was he going to do those things? He had no idea. But at least he had goals. That's what mattered.

The sound of the trunk closing snapped him back to attention, and he watched as Bill climbed back into the car.

"Find what you were looking for?"

The demon smirked at him, lifting his lips just enough to show off his sharp teeth. "That, and more Pine Tree."

He felt as if the air had been knocked out of his lungs, and he nodded slowly. "Great," he breathed.

When they got back home, Dipper expected Bill to order him into the bedroom, but instead Bill told him to go into his own room.

"I have some business to deal with. The whole serial killer thing is finally blowing up, now that there's been a few bodies, and I still need to catch the human that did it."

"So it was a human that did the first body? How come you haven't found him yet? And hasn't there been lots of bodies since you and him have been leaving them around?"

Bill put his hand up, stopping Dipper from asking anymore questions. "Christ kid, chill. Yes, because I have to avoid the cops at the same time, and I've been careful to only leave them to help make a pattern. He wasn't exactly leaving a straight line that lead to 'serial killer', so I'm just connecting the dots for him." He put a hand on Dipper's face and traced his jaw softly. "Don't miss me too badly Pine Tree," he chuckled.

A strange feeling went through Dipper's gut. God dammit why the hell was his brain doing this to him? He had no desire to have Bill around, and yet when Bill told him not to miss him, his brain instantly did, even though he hadn't even left the room yet.

"Anyway, hang out in there until I come to get you. Remember, no little escapades. If I find out you left the house while I'm gone I'll show you what the inside of your stomach looks like."

There was the feeling he was used to. Sure, it was fear, but it was better than the alternative his brain had decided on.

"Pretty sure I learned my lesson."

A large smile spread on Bill's face and he turned to leave. "Good."

Dipper ended up falling asleep while he waited for Bill. Even though there were plenty of things to do around the house, Dipper prefered to be alone with his thoughts.

The alone time hadn't proved to be very helpful though. His mind raced around in circles and he couldn't think of anything other than how screwed he was. It could take forever to find Bill's weakness, if he even had one, and Dipper doubted that Bill would ever willingly give up the information on how he could change back.

When he woke up, he felt something warm next to him. He turned over to see what it was, and saw that Bill was lying next to him, texting someone.

"Bill?"

"Of course it's me dumbass."

Dipper rolled his eyes and huffed. "What time is it?"

Bill looked away from his cell phone for a moment, but quickly went back to texting when he saw that Dipper had shut his eyes again. "One. You slept for a long ass time. Feeling alright?"

"Do you care?" Dipper opened one eye to see the demon's reaction.

He raised an eyebrow and set his phone down on his chest. "I've kept you alive this long, even though you've pulled all the bullshit that you have, and I've made sure to heal you when you were hurt. It would seem that, in some form or another, there is a sliver of a fuck given about your existence."

Dipper smiled and rolled onto his back. "So you do care then?"

"I'm going to stop if you keep asking. Now, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong." Bill rolled over onto Dipper and sprawled his arms out. "I'm not moving until I make sure my fleshbag isn't defective or broken. I can't have you getting sick, or some stupid shit like that."

A little shocked at how much Bill seemed to give a damn, Dipper shrugged under the demon's weight. "I guess my body was just tired. I don't think I'm sick."

"Good. I didn't want to have to give you more blood right now. If you haven't noticed, there's been some side effects that need to die off before I give you anymore."

Side effects? Dipper hadn't noticed anything other than the changing into a demon thing. "Like what?"

Bill sat up and stared down at him for a moment before shaking his head and laughing. "If you haven't connected the dots, then I'm not going to do it for you. Figure it out and I'll stick a gold star on your head or something."

Dipper thought for a moment. What side effects? His head was still cloudy from sleep, and he didn't want to think right then, so he just shrugged.

"No gold star for you then." Bill got off the bed and fixed the black vest he was wearing over a gray button up shirt. "Well, as much as I enjoy our banter, I still have some things I need to see to today. You're welcome to come along, if you wish to see how I plant a body. Maybe it'll teach you a lesson or two about behaving. Also, tomorrow is the Round, and you're coming with me."

Dipper got off the bed and took his shirt off so that he could change into more comfortable clothing. "I think I'll stay home for today. What the hell is the Round anyway? It sounds like some big event."

Bill stopped him before he could put another shirt on by putting his hand on Dipper's chest. He moved closer to him and let his hand slowly slide down to his pants, which made Dipper's heart jump up to his throat.

Dipper froze and took a few deep breaths. "If we're going to be having 'fun', I'd like to at least brush my teeth first."

The demon laughed and yanked Dipper to him using his pants. "The Round," he said ignoring Dipper "is an annual party I like to throw. We get a handful of humans, then we get to vote on whether they live or not. It's a bit complicated until you play, but basically the rules are that we have to let at least two of the humans live, and at the end, if the two humans were the ones marked, we get to eat them. If they were unmarked, then we have to let them go."

"So, you said. . . eight humans? So then, two of them are marked, and we all have to guess which two, then if we guess right, all the them die, but if we guess wrong, then two of them get to go free?" Dipper tried to move back a little from Bill, but the demon just pulled him close again.

"Exactly! You catch on so quickly. Gold star!" Bill poked Dipper's cheek, and a gold star sticker appeared on his face.

"What a waste of magic," Dipper laughed.

Bill moved back from Dipper and grabbed his hand. "I'll teach you how to do that really quickly. It's super easy magic."

Dipper blinked at him. He had forgotten that Bill said he could use magic. Maybe it would be useful to start learning. "Teach me how to make something useful appear."

He thought for a moment, then nodded. "You holding your cell phone?"

"No. It's on the bed." Dipper glanced over at it and saw that he had a text. Probably Mabel.

"Good. Open you hand." Bill flattened out Dipper's hand above his. "Now, think of where the cell phone is, and where you want it to be. Then take a deep breath and it should come naturally. I expect you to be a prodigy at this, seeing as it's my blood you have in your system."

Dipper closed his eyes and thought about his cell phone, and how he really wanted to check the text from Mabel. There was a quick, tingling sensation in his arm, then he felt a weight on his hand. He opened his eyes and saw that his cell phone had dropped in his hand.

Bill was smiling up at him. "Perfect! Practice that while I'm out. For now, I really should be going."

Once Bill was gone, Dipper read over the text from Mabel.

" _Love you Bro-bro! Hope to see you soon! We should plan a picnic or something with the family!_ "

He smiled at his phone for a minute before responding.

" _For sure. Let me know and I'll plan for it. Love you too Mabel._ "

He didn't use to say that he loved people back very often, even to Mabel, but with his current situation, he felt he needed to grab everyone he loved and shout it at their faces.

He had stayed up thinking about what he was going to do about the sick game the demons made up. He wanted so badly to save everyone there, but he knew with all those demons around, the best he could do would be to save the two that he could. He would have to find out how they were marked, then try and convince Bill to vote for the wrong ones.

There was little to no doubt in his mind that whatever Bill voted for, the others would follow and vote the same. At least, he hoped it would be that way. He could talk Bill into voting wrong, but there was no way he could convince a room full of demons to do it.

That thought was jarring. He was going to be in a room full of demons again, and he was a freak of nature to them. Not many of them seemed to like him very much, and as much as he hated to think about it, he was going to have to cling to Bill the whole time.

Eventually he drifted off, and he woke up with Bill lying next to him again, but that time Bill was playing with his hair and looked like he was deep in thought while staring at him.

"Pine Tree, when did you go to bed?"

Dipper shrugged. "I don't know, like ten? Maybe? Why?"

Bill tugged at his hair lightly. "It's two. You're sleeping a lot. You sure you're not feeling anything weird?"

" _Besides my affection for you?"_ Dipper thought to himself. "Not really. Is this the side effect you were talking about?"

Bill chuckled and ran his hand through Dipper's hair, giving Dipper the chills. "No, no. This is something else. It can be dealt with later though. You need to shower, shave, brush your teeth, then put on the outfit that will be on your bed when you get out of the shower. We have a bit of a long drive ahead of us, so I'll make a big dinner before we go." He got off the bed and snapped his fingers. "Get to it, Pine Tree."

Dipper nodded and pulled himself out of bed.

A shower sounded amazing, and he really did need to shave. His stubble was turning into a beard, and he didn't like it.

Once he had a smooth face, he showered a bit slowly, hoping that he could prolong wearing whatever horrible outfit Bill had picked out for him. It was very likely going to be something horribly embarrassing, and he so wasn't looking forward to it.

As he walked out of the bathroom, he kept his eyes mostly shut so that he didn't have to see the outfit right away.

On the bed, there was a pair of leather pants with a few tears on the legs and metal studs around the waist, lying next to a plain black T-shirt. On the floor, there was a pair of combat boots and there was a couple of belts on top of them, also studded and torn up by a designer.

"Bill," he shouted "do I really have to wear this crap?"

There was a moment of silence before Bill shouted back.

"If you're not out here with the whole outfit on in the next ten minutes I will come in there and use those belts to tie you down and cut you."

Dipper sighed and looked back down at the outfit. "I guess it's better than the alternative," he mumbled to himself.

Being dressed like that made Dipper horribly uncomfortable. He felt like he was about to go to some awful concert. Which, in a weird way, he kind of was, but instead of music, it was likely going to be screams and people begging for their lives.

He shivered at the thought and took a deep breath. At least he would be helping two of them. Hopefully, anyway. He still needed to figure out how they were marked so that he could vote properly.

Bill couldn't hide his smile, and snickered at Dipper's annoyed face. "Aw, you look so much more like a demon like this."

"Shut up, this is terrible and the clothes are way too form-fitting." Dipper sat down at the table and watched as Bill made them both a bowl of some stew, and slid a plate of rolls onto the middle of the table.

"Who knew a demon could cook," he laughed.

Bill rolled his eyes as he sat down across from Dipper and started to sip at his meal. "Just shut up and eat. We're going to be late."

Once they finished eating, they went out and got into Bill's favorite yellow sports car, then headed off to the Round.

Dipper sat quietly, not wanting to blurt out the millions of questions he had for Bill. Were the humans marked in a physical way, or was it something only demons could guess at? He was a demon now, or at least a half demon, would he be able to guess correctly?

 _If you guess wrong we get to eat more flesh! Raw, squishy flesh!_

He cringed at the voice and tried to think of something else. He didn't want to get all worked up before they even got there.

It was a long drive, about an hour and a half, and Bill didn't say anything to Dipper the entire time. The silence made Dipper a little uncomfortable, but he was a little afraid to say anything. He didn't want to piss Bill off just before being surrounded by him and a bunch of other bloodthirsty demons.

They arrived at an abandoned warehouse that was fairly small, and was on it's own in the middle of a field of dried up dead plants. It looked like something straight out of a horror movie.

 _Yes, finally, blood and guts! I hope we get to rip someone's throat out with our teeth!_

Ignoring the thought, Dipper followed Bill out of the car. They had parked behind the building, and had to make their way to one of the side doors.

Dipper wasn't used to wearing those boots, so he nearly tripped on a rock and Bill had to catch him before he fell.

"Geez kid," he chuckled "learn to walk." Before Bill opened the door, he put his hand on Dipper's chest and stared at him for a moment. "Change before we go in. And, I don't think I need to remind you of the importance of staying close to me. There's plenty of places in this building where someone could drag you off and kill you."

Dipper nodded. He took a deep breath and felt a shiver go up his spine as his body changed.

"Good. Now," he pulled the collar from his pocket and wiggled it in front of Dipper's face "let's put this bad boy on."

It was just as tight as the last time, and it made Dipper cough a bit.

"Oh my, look at my sexy little demon," Bill teased. "Tonight, we're definitely having some intense fun times."

He gulped and looked down. At least he had time to mentally prepare himself for it.

The inside of the building was freakishly quiet, and would normally be pretty dark, but Dipper found that his demon eyes could see in the dark.

As they went down some stairs into the basement of the building, Dipper could hear voices, all slightly distorted.

Bill opened a door that lead into a large, circular room, where a pit sat in the middle of a red, iron walkway that wrapped around the room. The pit looked like it was only five or so feet deep, and the top was fenced off so that people on the walkway could look down into it.

Bill lead him over to a spot across the room, where he leaned over the railing and spoke to Filly, who was in her demon form, and seemed thrilled that Bill had brought Dipper with.

He was happy that at least one demon didn't hate him, but it made him realize that Bill was still human-looking. His black jacket and T-shirt over his dark jeans actually stuck out, as the demons that weren't naked were dressed more like Dipper. He looked the most human in the room.

"So, Dippah, that's your real name huh?" Filly was smiling at him, and it made his stomach twist. Her human form was so adorable, how could she turn into something to terrifying?

"Y-yeah." He was trying to avoid looking at her, but her orange eyes kept catching his eye and he would occasionally glance up at them.

She giggled and nudged Bill's shoulder. "I love what ya did with him. His eyes are so cool!"

Bill smiled over at her then stood up straight, looking down at Dipper.

He hated that Bill was a good five inches taller than he was, and it made him feel so small whenever he looked at him like that.

"Yeah, he seems to be working out so far. I've decided to keep him a while." Bill ruffled his hair and smiled at him. "Until I get hungry that is," he chuckled.

Filly's smile faded a bit and she stared at Dipper. Her eyes, though it was a little hard to tell, seemed, sad, almost.

Dipper cleared his throat and looked down at his feet, hoping to avoid any more contact with the demons.

Once the room was filled with just enough demons to circle the walkway, it became really quiet and all eyes fell on either Bill or Dipper.

"If you're here," Bill started, breaking the silence "then it means you're one of the few asshole that I don't hate. I don't fucking like you either, but I don't hate ya," he chuckled.

A few laughs went through the small crowd, but it quickly got quiet again.

"Let's go ahead and start this year's Round. Remember, you have to try and choose the marked humans. If we get both marked humans, then all of the humans die. If we get one marked human, and one unmarked then the two humans still get to go free. So try and pick out both of the marked ones so that we can kill them all!" Bill's flames lit up the room, and he changed into his demon form.

The others cheered at this, but Dipper just stared in awe at the flames. They were touching everything, yet nothing was actually burning.

Two demons that looked like Bill's bouncers, buff and tall, with little to no hair on their heads, and almost no intelligence on their faces, lead out the eight humans, who were all blindfolded and had their hands tied behind their back.

Dipper looked at them all carefully, as they were lined up in the middle of the pit. Some of them were shaking and looked like they could barely keep themselves standing, and others had tears dried onto their faces, new ones slowly seeping out when they heard all of the voices around them.

One of the demons in the pit lifted his hand above the head of the first person in the line, and the group of demons began talking to each other about whether or not he should live.

This sent a wave of panic over Dipper. He had to figure out which ones were marked, and fast.

Oh, god, he was actually about to vote on killing people. Living, crying, people, who probably had families. They would probably be begging for their lives if they weren't so afraid.

His mouth became dry and he cleared his head. Okay, so all of them were wearing different clothes, so he doubted that was what marked them. There were five men and three women, so it wasn't going by gender.

"What do you think?" Bill smirked at him and pulled him closer by his hips.

Dipper felt like his heart was about to beat right out of his chest. What marked them? There were two of them that were different, but how?

"Tick tock," Bill sang.

Fuck, what was the difference? Dipper stared down at them and focused as best as he could. There. The third one, and the one on the end. Their blindfolds were tucked ever so slightly higher than the others. That was the best thing he could go off of, and it really seemed to be the only difference that set the two apart.

"Kill," he said quietly. He would try to save two of the women. The ones that looked like they could be mothers. God, he hoped none of them were parents.

A large grin spread on Bill's face and he nodded. "I think so too." He looked back out at the crowd and held his arms out. "I think this one dies!" he laughed.

They cheered in agreement, and the demon in the pit forced the first man onto his knees. He stood behind the second person, one of the women that Dipper wanted to save, and held his hand above her head.

"Save," Dipper said quickly.

Bill chuckled. "Aw, what a gentleman. Trying to save the women, are we?"

"Honestly I'm just guessing," he lied. "I'm just saying the first thing that comes to my head." He hoped Bill bought that. God, he hoped he could save at least those two.

He stared at him for a moment then smiled. "Fine then. This one lives! Agreed?"

Only a few demons didn't cheer that time, but it was enough for the demon in the pit to move on to the next man.

Why Bill was agreeing with him, he didn't know, but his plan was working, and that was all that mattered. God, he hoped he was guessing right.

He continued to vote for the next few, opting to save the other woman. How he was getting what he wanted, he didn't know, but it was great, and it made him feel good.

"Well, last human, and we've already potentially saved the two. Well," he boomed. "We're we correct, or do the two humans get to walk?"

One of the demons in the pit put his thumb up, then let it fall, giving Bill a thumbs down. "They were unmarked. Humans get to go free."

There was a low chatter that went through the crowd, and Dipper could hear their disappointment and feel their glares.

"Keyhole," Bill snapped at one of the demons in the pit. "Take the blindfold off of the last one. Point him this way."

Dipper gulped. The person was going to see his face. He was going to see the hatred in their eyes. The unforgiving, godawful fear and hatred.

The demon, Keyhole, did as Bill said, and when the person looked up at them, Dipper's heart leaped into his throat.

He knew him. He had gone to highschool with him. "T-Terry?"

"Dipper!? Dipper Pines?" he squeaked. "You're doing this! To me, to these people! What the fuck are you!? How could you!"

The demons laughed and Bill nudged his shoulder. "You know this human? Oh, this is gold! Well, hey 'Terry' this kid is the reason you're about to be eaten by demons! Isn't that rich? Shoulda been nicer to him I guess!"

Dipper started to shake and he shook his head lightly. "N-no, I don't. . . I didn't. . ." He stammered over his words for a moment, unable to find anything to say to him.

The two demons lead the two saved women from the circle, leaving all of the other humans in the middle for a moment, then they came back in and untied all of their blindfolds.

They gasped in horror at the sight of the demons surrounding them, and a few started to sob.

Terry kept his eye contact with Dipper, making sure to let him know that he was disgusted with him.

The demons snapped their necks, one by one, letting the bodies fall to the floor.

Dipper cringed at each horrible popping noise, and when it came to Terry, he mouthed "I'm sorry" to him, but only received a "fuck off" in return.

Once the demons had finished, the room was silent for a moment.

Bill turned to Dipper with a horrible smirk on his face. "Well, that was fun, wasn't i-"

Dipper punched him. Right in the jaw. As hard as he could. How dare he make him go through that. The other stuff seemed like a daydream compared to the horrible twisting feeling in his gut right then.

He stormed out quickly, passing by the demons who seemed like they might be on shock.

The cold nighttime air was a bit of a shock to his system, since he went from breathing the musty air inside, to the frigid fresh air.

He sat outside the door, his knees pulled up to his chest, ready for Bill to come up and kill him. In that moment though, he didn't care. Bill deserved that punch. And Dipper hoped it fucking hurt. It probably didn't, but he could wish.

Blue flames lit up the door, and Dipper felt his entire body brace for the oncoming storm. Oh man, he was so dead.

He almost cried, thinking about how much Mabel would miss him, and how much it would haunt her for the rest of her life. But, he wanted to stay strong in death. He wasn't going to give Bill the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

"Pine Tree, Pine tree, Pine Tree," Bill said in a sickeningly slow and deep voice. He stood in front of him, with his arms folded and a wide eye. His bangs were covering one of his eyes, but Dipper could see that they were both glowing intensely, giving off that same toxic look he had seen when Bill had found the flash drive.

"If you're going to kill me, just fucking do it already. I hate you, I can't stand doing this anymore." Dipper stared back at him with his own glowing eyes, the blur of his blending in with the fire around him. "It's funny, I thought you had already done some of the worst things you could to me, and that there wasn't much room for worse. But here we are," he chuckled in an almost hysterical way. "I don't get you, I don't get your sick fucking game; I'm done."

Bill got onto his knees, his gaze still locked on Dipper's and he leaned forward, getting close enough that Dipper could feel the heat of his breath on his cheeks. "Do you? Do you truly hate me?"

"Yes." Dipper said confidently. "I-I thought. . . maybe I didn't, and that. . ." he shook his head. "No. I hate you."

"There. That falter in your decision. Do you know why you just did that?"

Dipper gulped and shivered. Bill's face was completely emotionless, and it was terrifying. "I don't."

"The side effects. Our bond by my blood. You've had enough to change you into this, and yet you are able to still fight the affection in your head, and were able to punch me in the face." That at least made Bill let out a small laugh, making Dipper a little less tense.

He felt the demon pull at his ankles, making his legs straighten out, then Bill straddled him putting his face back to where it was before, an inch or so from Dipper's.

"S-so, I was only feeling that way because of your blood?" Oh, what a relief that was. To know that all of these wrong, unwanted thoughts weren't his own. He almost relaxed, but he caught himself, and refused to loosen his tense muscles while Bill was on him like that.

Bill's face cracked, and Dipper could see an emotion fill his features. What emotion, he couldn't quite tell, but something was there. Something that made Dipper's stomach twist again. If he weren't so focused on trying to keep his own stone-cold demeanor, he would probably vomit.

"Dipper," he said softly. "A bond doesn't create," he cringed "feelings" he cringed again at the word "it just shares them. Perhaps, I have let myself grow a spot in whatever type of heart I may have, and you're feeling the overflow of that. I have no idea how to show affection that isn't faked, so it probably hasn't been apparent."

Dipper blinked at Bill. Was. . . was Bill, confessing his feelings? That made Dipper want to cry and laugh at the same time. How fucked up. How incredibly, horribly, fucked up.

"So those feelings, they were yours and not mine?"

"If you do truly hate me, then yes. They were all mine. But," he looked away from Dipper for a fraction of a second, then cleared his throat when their eyes met again "if you don't, then some of it was definitely yours."

"I don't believe you," Dipper snapped. "After everything you've done to me, after how many times you said you were just going to eat me when you were done with me, and now you're saying that you. . . that you love me?"

Bill chuckled, and looked away from Dipper, that time keeping his eyes down. "I will explain this to you as simply as I can. I'm not saying that I love you, per say. What I mean, is that when a demon comes to this realm, they must inhabit a human body. Whether it be tailor made like mine, or stolen, it still is a human body. With that human body, obviously, comes a brain. The human brain is the thing that latches on to feelings, like love, hate; all of that junk."

Dipper nodded, making sure to let Bill know that he was listening. This information was interesting, and he was actually glad that Bill was sharing it with him.

"And, well, the demon can't control when the brain does those things. We can ignore it, sure, but it gives us a chunk of humanity, that can sometimes fuck with us. Some let it completely over take them, and act human, like they once were. Others, most of us actually, try to shove it away, and force ourselves to stay the damned creatures that we've become." He paused for a moment and chuckled. "I'm rambling. Anyway, my brain thought you were adorable, at the same time as the real me saw into your soul, and knew that you had great potential. With what, I'm still unsure, but it's there. Oh, it's there."

Dipper could feel himself relax a little under Bill, and his muscles loosened. They ached a little from being so tense for so long, but he ignored them and continued to listen to Bill's explanation.

"My brain fell for you as time went on. You're so full of life, even though I have beaten you down, and it still thinks you're very attractive. The affection has slowly seeped into my soul, and tainted me. The real me, has only ever felt amused that you are the way that you are, and I have been trying so desperately to keep it that way. But. . . after just then, when I felt the little bit of pain that your punch gave me, I felt the dam burst. The real me wants you. The brave, undying light that is your soul, I need it. I want to hold it and keep pressing on it until I can feel it burn out, then watch as it lights back up again, because you just won't stay down."

Dipper felt himself go completely limp, resting his weight on the wall behind him. "My punch made you love me?"

"Not love," he corrected. "Well, my brain loves you, or is at least enthralled with you, but me, oh, I just lust for your soul. I need it near me so that I can watch you burn, in the best of ways."

He looked down and thought for a moment. He could use this. "So, is that why you listened to me in there? Was that your brain, letting me win because it felt bad for me?"

Bill looked back at Dipper and his face went back to its emotionless form. "Yes. Then I retaliated by forcing you to look into the eyes of the man you killed."

"So now that you want me around, do you care to share more with me? Like maybe, more magic? And will you not be as horrible towards me?" Dipper used a demanding voice, hoping that his "bravery" would entertain Bill.

There was a pause, and Dipper could see Bill's brain working through his eyes. It was. . . really interesting. Was that what Bill meant when he said he could see Dipper's brain working? That little twitch behind the eyes, the almost scroll of unreadable text flying past their face? He had never cared to look so closely at Bill's eyes, but since they were there, so close to his, he felt like he had to.

"Only if you truly do not hate me. I won't let my brain go through the shitty process of feeling rejection. It will be a terrible month or so for me, and I would like to avoid it if possible."

Dipper was sure that Bill could see his thoughts as well, because as soon as the question of, "do I really hate him?" crossed Dipper mind, his thoughts went flying. He couldn't really grab onto one for a starting point, and it made his head hurt. Did he really hate Bill?

No. Yes, but no. He had done terrible things, but when there was those small moments of passion, he was certain that he had a few of his own feelings in there. It wasn't just Bill's feelings. Very few of them, very, very few of them, were his. And though they were small, they were there. It made him feel a little nauseous to admit that to himself, but it had to be done. After all, the first step to dealing with a problem was admitting that you had one.

"No, Bill. I don't absolutely hate you. Some of the feelings. . . were mine."

Before Dipper could say anything else, Bill put both of his hands on the side of his face, and pulled him into a deep kiss.

Bill's hands and lips were so warm compared to the chilly air around them, and Dipper's body instinctively leaned into them, trying to steal their warmth.

God, this was fucked up. But, he didn't hate it, and that made it at least a little okay.

"Pine Tree," Bill breathed as he moved away from him "let's go home."

 _ **AN: The smut that fits after this chapter can be found on Tumblr under the blog, Bloodbathsmut. So I can see the end of this thing. There's probably only about 4 or 5 chapters left. Maybe more, maybe less, I'm not 1000% sure yet. I hope you're all enjoying this. All of your comments and kudos, favorites and follows, mean a lot to me. I love responding to you guys, and watching you all guess what's going to happen is a lot of fun. Thank you all so much for reading!**_


	15. Taken

_**AN: Merry Christmas! (Or happy holidays if you celebrate something else!) I thought I'd finish up the update and release it today as my present to all of you for being so awesome.**_

 _ **Also, sorry about the title of this chapter, I couldn't help myself XD**_

 _ **I hope you enjoy!**_

 _ **SorryI'mNoGoodAtWritingAccentsBTWSorry**_

Dipper was rudely awakened by Bill's hand smacking into his face, and when he sat up to move away from him, he heard the demon chuckle.

"Damn it, stop doing that," he mumbled.

"But Pine Tree," he said seriously "how will I wake you up otherwise? You slept like a rock. Do you know how many selfies I took with you? Hell I could've picked you up and carried you around and you probably would've stayed asleep."

Dipper cringed and rolled over. "Why do you take so many selfies anyway?" Dipper had always been a little curious as to why Bill thought taking pictures was so entertaining. What could he even need them for?

Bill shoved his cell phone into Dipper's hands and nudged his shoulder. "Look at my social media apps."

His heart jumped into his throat. "You've been posting them on the internet!?" He opened one of the first apps he saw, then went straight to Bill's profile.

There was a stream of photos of Dipper asleep, and Bill messing with him. None were showing anything inappropriate of course, but they were still horribly embarrassing.

"'Boyfriend is so sleepy, and I'm so bored'? You sound so human," he chuckled. He tried to sit up, but his head felt really heavy and he couldn't find it in himself to move just yet. In fact, if Bill hadn't laid on top of him after that, he might have fallen back asleep.

"I have to sound like that on those sites. People are loving our relationship. That whole abuse things passed over quickly, though it was annoying, it wasn't much of a blow to our appearance." He brushed Dipper's bangs from his face and poked at his cheek. "I'm glad that I kept you around. You're the perfect thing to let out what little humanity I have at."

Dipper squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. "So, with this whole, love thing. . . I guess I just still am a little confused. Your brain loves me, but you just want to keep me around to watch how I, live?"

Bill didn't respond, but instead moved his hand to Dipper's hair and used it to pull him into a kiss. He pressed his body to his, and deepened the kiss.

Dipper felt his chest tighten, and he wasn't sure why Bill was doing this. It felt nice, he wasn't going to lie about that, but it was confusing.

"That's how my body feels." Bill smiled and kept himself close to Dipper. "And this," he moved his mouth to Dipper's neck and lightly bit him, careful not to break the skin, and pressed his hips forward.

That was enough to make Dipper's heart start to pound in his chest and make him pant at the sudden attention. Bill gave him a few more gentle bites and a lick or two, then moved back and smiled.

"That's how I feel about you. One is affectionate, and wants you to be here for all of that mushy crap, and the other is lustful, and wants you for the sex, the witty banter, and to watch how you react when I put you into horrible situations. Per our agreement last night however, I will be nicer to you. Don't think punishments won't still happen if you step too far out of line though."

With his body all confused and worked up, Dipper felt the heaviness return to his eyes, and he blinked a few times before falling back asleep.

Why he was so tired, he didn't know, and he had never been able to fall back asleep like that once he had woken up. It was weird, and he made a mental note to ask Bill about what was happening, once he was awake.

The room was dark when he opened his eyes, and he found that he was still in Bill's bed. Bill wasn't there though, which was a little strange, but Dipper was okay with it.

He made his way into the kitchen, his cell phone in hand, responding to a text from Mabel about where she wanted to do a family picnic. About half way through the text, he heard a tapping sound behind him. He set his phone on the table and listened for a moment. The sound had stopped, and he shrugged it off, about to grab his phone from the table, but was yanked back by a hand that had wrapped around his mouth.

It wasn't Bill messing with him, this hand was not long and thin like his. It was short and really warm, sweaty even, and the skin was rough and dry, not smooth and cold like the demon's.

Dipper flailed his arms around, hoping to connect with the stranger's face, but had no luck, since a second pair of hands grabbed his arms and restrained him fully, only leaving his legs out to kick. He knew that if he were being kidnapped, whether it be by humans or demons, then he had to let Bill know somehow. The best way to do that, was to make as much of a mess as possible.

He used all of his strength to kick over a chair, and he even tried to flip the table, but was unsuccessful since it was heavier than he thought it would be. Hopefully the chair and his cell phone with an unfinished message would be enough to tip Bill off.

They threw him into the back of a truck, and another man put a cloth over his mouth, that burned and felt so rough he was sure that struggling with it made his mouth bleed.

After a few minutes of struggling, the world grew dark and even though he had just slept for hours, he went out like a rock, his body going limp on top of the man holding the rag.

When he opened his eyes, he found that he was strung up by his wrists in chains. He realized then that he didn't have shoes on, and he cursed under his breath, since the ground was hard, cold cement.

First thing was first, he had to figure out where he was, and who he was with. Humans, or demons.

It was clearly some sort of basement, and the room was bare, save a few metal chairs and a table off to his left. There was a staircase in the back, that lead up to a door that Dipper couldn't see, and in general it looked like all pretty new stuff. It was a fairly large basement, but felt claustrophobic the longer he stayed in it. Maybe someone's basement?

He was left alone in there for a good amount of time, so he had no idea who could have taken him. Could Bill be messing with him? Was this some sort of test?

Or could it be that Bill had some human enemies, wanting some ransom, or to kill him to get back at Bill? That was likely, since Bill was the richest most powerful man in the world, so he definitely had people who would be after him or at least Dipper.

Maybe it was demons though, and he was about to be killed just because some of them didn't like Bill. Either way, he knew he was in for pain, and he so wished he had had shoes on.

Dipper wondered for a moment if he could break the chains while in his demon form, but decided against it. If he had some sort of camera on him, and he was with humans, then they would see that he wasn't entirely human, and likely use it against him some how.

Could he bring himself to kill someone if he had to? And what if his body got worked up and ate them? It would be at least a little justified, since they had kidnapped him.

Right?

A little while later, a short man that was thin and had bright orange, short, messy hair, bounced down the stairs. He looked a few years younger than Dipper, and he was a sight for sore eyes. This kid couldn't hurt Dipper that badly with just his strength. So that was nice.

"Wha's yer name?" the kid spat.

"Dipper." He spoke as clearly as he could, though his body was feeling sluggish from all that had happened, so it came out a bit slurred.

"Ah, he was right then. Ya think ya could wait three days down here for ya boyfriend tah come get ye?" The kid's accent was in and out, and Dipper couldn't quite place where it was from. Scottish, perhaps?

Dipper tried to shrug. "Maybe. Why three days? Waiting for some ransom?"

The kid rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Nah, we've gotten the pay fer this already, we're jus' waitin' fer him to come find ya. If he does, that is. We've been told if he doesn't get ya by the fourth day, we get ta tear ya up and bury ye."

"Who is we?" If he could find out how many there are, and if they're for sure humans or not, then he could determine if he could take them.

He paced in front of Dipper, his hands flipping around a butterfly knife he had had in his pocket. That made Dipper a little more nervous. "A few of us. And don't even think aboot tryin' ta fight; we could take yer pixie ass in a heartbeat."

Dipper cringed. He forgot that everyone saw him as Bill's meek boyfriend. He needed to change that with these guys. "Could you now? I bet if you let me out of these chains I could stick that butterfly knife in your ginger head." Maybe he could intimidate the kid. He was a good foot taller than he was, and had far more muscle.

He paused his walk and raised an eyebrow at Dipper. "Ya think you could take me? I'd cut ye faster than you could drop ta the ground mate!" he boasted.

"Hm, not really a fair fight if you come at me while I'm still tied up. You'd have to wait until I was prepared for it to be a good fight."

The kid stomped up to Dipper's face and held the knife to his cheek.

Okay, maybe being tough wasn't what he should do.

"Ya think yer tough shit? I don't care if yer a hundred feet taller than I am, I'll fuckin' cut your eyes out!"

The basement door flew open, and a much bigger man, one with another head of orange hair, rushed down the steps and yanked the smaller guy away from Dipper.

"Get yer damn head where it needs to be, ya twat! We can't kill 'im yet!"

The two were clearly brothers, and from what Dipper had seen, clearly humans. He almost felt bad for them, since Bill was likely going to kill them.

"He's givin' me lip! I'll cut 'im where he stands if eh thinks he can fuckin' take me!"

The taller man pulled him closer by the collar of his shirt and scowled at him. "I don't fuckin' care what he did! We can' kill 'im yet! 'Sides, he said he might put up more of a fight than we'd think. Said to be careful of 'im."

Dipper listened carefully to everything they said, hoping that he could pick up some more information on them. Whoever hired them must've known that Dipper wasn't completely human, since they warned the men about picking a fight with him. They were likely someone pretty wealthy, since a ransom from Bill would be huge, so they must've offered them a good amount to keep him. Why three days though? Why pay to have him taken, then wait for Bill to find him?

If the person did know about Dipper's inhuman side, then they knew that Bill was a demon, so they must've known that Bill would be able to find him. Dipper didn't know enough about other demons, or humans that were close enough to Bill to know, to guess who it could be. Maybe it was the same person who told the writer for the news, to write the article about Bill abusing him.

Or, he just had a bunch of people out for he and Bill, which was also a totally viable probability.

"Ey, you listenin'?" The older man flicked Dipper in the forehead and he snapped to attention.

"What?"

The younger one chuckled and nudged Dipper in the gut. "Ya got air in yer head er somethin'? Pay attention!"

Holding his stare with Dipper, the older one cleared his throat, clearly annoyed that he had to repeat himself. "We're leavin' ya in here for a little while, don't be tryin' nothin' funny. Someone'll be here 'round the clock to watch ye." He patted Dipper on the head and turned to leave.

The short one smiled at Dipper with a crazed fire in his eyes, then punched him in the gut, hard, before turning and following his brother out.

Dipper coughed and cringed at it. For a little guy, he could hit hard. He was going to have to watch his mouth a little better until Bill came around.

As he turned off his car, Bill sighed and leaned back in his chair. He was going to have to deal with the damn human's sleeping issue, just after playing nice to a room full of humans for a couple of hours. Smiling was exhausting, unless you were doing it because of someone else's pain. Or suffering. Suffering was good too.

He stretched his long arms as he stood, and took in a deep breath. Something smelled, off. Like, old exhaust. None of his pristine cars would ever make such a smell, and he hadn't expected any visitors. Well, Shawn should be there by then, but Bill paid the douche enough to have a decent car.

The front door even had a black scuff on it, as if a shoe had rubbed on it from someone opening it with their foot. Pine Tree knew well enough not to do so. He knew well enough to to leave either. He hoped.

Being nicer to the human was going to be hard without giving even more into the chunk of humanity he had to deal with. Torturing him was fun though. Him leaving could easily be counted as a fuck up large enough for a punishment. He had warned him about it, so fair was fair.

He stepped into his kitchen to see Shawn standing next to a knocked over chair, and Pine Tree's cellphone was in his hand.

"I would hope that you have enough manners to at least pick up the chair after knocking it over. And please do tell me why you have my human's cellphone." Bill snatched it from his hands and looked at the screen. A half written text message to Shooting Star had been typed in. "Did you write this?"

Shawn scoffed. "I wouldn't speak to a human unless I had to. I came here for our meeting, and was met with a disgusting, old truck racing away. The chair and cellphone were here when I entered. Do you think that he left?"

Bill didn't answer, but instead walked to his bedroom, checking to see if he was in there. Nope. How about the room he slept in? Not there either. He returned to the kitchen and ran a hand through his fluffy yellow hair.

"Do you think that he left?" Shawn repeated.

"I doubt that he's stupid enough. He knows I could find him literally anywhere he could run off to." Bill thought for a moment. So, the human may have been dumb enough to try and run off. That was a possibility. He wasn't going to share that with Shawn, but he had to keep it in mind.

Could someone have been ballsy enough to take him? That was really the only other thing he could think of. And it did look as if a struggle had taken place.

"Would you like me to begin looking for him?" Shawn tensed his square jaw and looked beyond annoyed.

Bill knew that he didn't like Pine Tree. There was no way he would conduct a thorough enough search to find him before he was beaten or killed. "No. I will do it. If you want something done quickly and correctly, you must do it yourself. We will speak another day. Leave me be to begin looking for him."

"Cipher, the human has gotten in the way of your business multiple times now. Perhaps it's time to let the sharks eat it." The other demon had raised his voice, and it sent a playful chill up Bill's spine.

He stepped forward with a blank expression on his face, then lit up the room around them with his flames. "Do you not see the power I hold? I can do what I please, whenever I fucking please, and you will do nothing to stand in my way. Do you truly wish to return to the void that I plucked you from? Drained of all your power, left for the others to destroy you?"

Shawn stared back at him, unfazed, and didn't respond.

"Continue to pick fights with me, and that's exactly what will happen to you. At this point, killing you and soaking up your magic would benefit me more than it would hurt me, so watch yourself."

The demon left in a huff, ignoring that Bill had threatened him.

"Yeesh," Bill sighed once he was alone.

It would take him at least a full day to determine who had taken his human. Maybe another to actually sniff him out, depending on who had taken him. That shitty PI would noticed his absence as soon as Shooting Star mentioned that he wasn't responding to her.

He hadn't honestly admitted to himself why he cared so much to find the man, and it would honestly be easier to just let him stay missing.

No, no. The media would go ballistic over Bill not having done anything to find him. He had trapped himself into keeping the human at that point, and it was annoying enough that he thought about shutting off the brain in his body as much as possible.

Again, no, that wouldn't work. He needed it to act human around the other powerful people, and he would surely flop if he tried to be around them without it.

The media could handle not seeing him for a few days. He could say that he had gotten sick, and stayed home. That was a good cover.

What to do about the Pines family though. From what he had researched, they were a tough bunch, that likely wouldn't stop fighting until they either had Pine Tree, or at least his corpse.

He had to tell them that he had been taken, but would need to say that he had his own people looking for him. Which, was true, but he knew that Stanford knew about him, so he likely wouldn't buy it. He would need to be clever with his words, and find Pine Tree fast, so that he could speak with Ford and feed the lies to him.

The man would believe his nephew over Bill any day, so he would need to make sure Pine Tree was prepared to spout solid lies. The kid was smart enough to do it. That is why he kept him initially; his soul was like a clock filled with tiny cogs, each waiting for knowledge and power to be painted over them. He was the perfect sponge, already filled with a brain he could mold.

Sure it had been hard to get him to come around to things, but he was hoping the payout would be worth it. A companion to rule the world with. He was a genius, and didn't really need another being, but it was nice to have someone that he had control over, but was still full of fire and had ideas.

He blinked a few times to pull himself back out of his thoughts, then fixed his cargo jacket. It was time to confront the PI, and use enough wordplay to get out without a bullet hole, and to avoid him prying into trying to find the human. It was late, but knowing his line of work, the man would still be in his office.

Bill could almost hear the human's excitement when he pulled up in his blue car, the one he would usually lend Pine Tree. It was time to put on a human face and fake concern for the missing man.

Was it fake? Shit. As he thought about it, he actually kind of gave a fuck. Like, a real one. That had only happened one other time, and it turned out okay, but this time it could be a clusterfuck.

He made his way through the bottom of the building, up the stairs to the door that was marked with Stanford's name and his title. He knocked on it gently, then waited for it to open.

"Why would Dipper knock?" Star's voice sounded from behind the door, and he smile faltered a little when she met Bill's stare. "O-oh. Hi, Bill." She opened the door and let him walk in, then closed it behind him.

A redheaded woman had sat up in her chair quickly, then went to a door in the back of the room, slipping inside of it.

Star seemed to be the only other person in the room, and he knew he had to play especially nice with her. Pine Tree would never be willing to do anything ever again if he so much as plucked a hair from her head. That was annoying, but he could refrain from hurting this human.

She was his twin after all, so her fire was a lot like his. Covered in more glitter, but similar.

"Where's Dipper?" She had a sweet smile on her face, but Bill could see that she was deeply concerned about what his answer would be.

Ford must have spoken with her about him. Who all had he told about the videos though? Ick, even thinking about Pine Tree's betrayal put him in a sour mood.

Before Bill could answer her, the redhead and Ford stepped out of the back room.

The man was seething and his face was red. How incredibly amusing! It made keeping a smile on his face that much easier.

"Where's Dipper?" he demanded.

"To be perfectly honest, I have no idea." Bill let his smile fall, and stared the man in the eyes, unblinking to show him that he had no fear of him.

Ford pulled his gun and pointed it at Bill's face. "So you say. Where the hell is my nephew?"

Star moved back slowly, clearly terrified that a gun had been pulled.

The redhead moved behind Ford, and made her way over to her, pulling her into the back room, leaving Ford and Bill alone.

"I know what you are, demon," Ford spat as soon as the door closed.

Bill let his smile return, that time much larger and he filled his mouth with his sharp teeth. "Do you? How interesting. You must know then, that the gun in your hand won't do anything." Well, this wasn't going exactly as planned, but he could work with it. He didn't care if Ford knew what he was. He would just have to bet on the lies the Pine Tree would tell him to take care of how quiet Ford stayed about it.

Ford lowered the gun, but kept it in his hand, gripping it tightly in case Bill made a move. "Where, is Dipper?"

Bill crossed his arms and leaned against the door. "If I knew, I would tell you, I really would. But, it seems someone doesn't like me, and they took him from me. Not sure how someone could be dumb enough to break into my home, but, here we are."

"Are you asking me to find him?" The tone in his voice amused the demon.

He could hear the man doubting himself, it was a thing of beauty.

"No, I wouldn't ask someone who doesn't have the skill." Oh he loved poking fun at this man. He would have to control himself at least a little, but he was going to have fun with it while he could. "I'm here to ask the opposite, actually. Stay out of the way so that I can use my own resources to find him. Once he is found, I promise to let him visit, but until then, let me find him."

"Why him? Why are you so attached to Dipper? Why are you putting him through all of this?"

Bill looked up at the ceiling and bit at his cheek. "He practically asked for me to scoop him up at the club. He's the one who told me the truth about himself. He's asked for this. Well, at least," he looked back at Ford and smirked "he certainly asked for it last night."

Ford's temper nearly broke, and he raised the gun again. "I doubt this thing will kill you, but I'm sure as hell it would hurt! He wouldn't have told me about you if he really has been wanting to be with you!"

He swayed his body back and forth, humming for a moment. "We'll see where he ends up. Until then, I have to go look for my Pine Tree. For his sake, stay out of it. It could be messy and I don't need the likes of you getting in my way."

"You mean humans?" Ford asked as he lowered his gun again.

Bill had turned to leave, and let out a low laugh before opening the door. "You know, knowing this information doesn't help you. Who's going to believe a word you say?"

"They will. I'll find a way to make them," he said softly.

"I'm sure you will." Bill rolled his eyes as he left. The stupid man had no way of exposing Bill. His little act of bravery was super unimpressive. At least compared to the ones Pine Tree had done.

That punch to the face was exciting. He honestly didn't think the kid had it in him! It made Bill that much more fond of the human, and it made his brain feel good. His soul was still a little iffy on the matter, but that didn't bother him much at the time. At least the brain part was finally happy.

The damn thing had become depressed and working with a mentally ill body wasn't fun. He was glad that Pine Tree ended up helping with that. It wasn't what he had planned for, but it was nice that the kid was working out.

Well, he was for the most part, anyway.

Now with the dipshit patrol taken care of, Bill could find out who had taken his human. And he could make them suffer accordingly. Of course, if they were human, they may not have known what they had gotten themselves into, so death by bleeding out was only fair. If it were a demon, and they knew exactly what they had done, well, their death would last at the very least a week.

Either way, he was getting his human back. Hopefully. Ick, he hated that there was doubt. Whatever, he could do this. And if not, then he would have to deal with the brain going through its grieving process, which would suck, but he would survive.

As he started his car, he shook his head. Damn bond was messing with his thoughts. He felt confused for the first time in a very long time and had to think about what he had just thought about to clear it up for himself.

He was going to get Pine Tree, because it would be more inconvenient to lose him than it would be to keep him. Then he was going to have some fun and murder someone, depending on who had taken him. Then, he had to work with Pine Tree on meeting up with his family.

There. Point A to point B thoughts, just how he liked it. This stupid bond wasn't taking charge, and he had control over it.

Hopefully.

 _ **AN: Oooh, someone's going to be in a lot of trouble. Probably Bill, since his brain is being dumb. Anyway, this one was long, so I hope you enjoyed it. The next one will probably take about a week (maybe less since it's all planned out idk) to finish, sooo yeah. If you would like to see updates on when new chapters will be posted, follow my dumbass on Tumblr. (same username from here) I'm going to start keeping you guys in the know so that you aren't left hanging on the updates. Also, you can ask me questions, or just talk to me if you want on here or Tumblr. (probably best to start a convo on Tumblr since they have that new spiffy messaging system) AANYYWAAAYYSS, sorry for babbling, you should totes leave a comment and lmk what you love or, what you hate. Just plz be nice about the hate part 'cause my lame ass soul can't bare the harsh shit rn. I hope your Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate, is fantastic, and that you know that I would totally party with all of you if I could. Peace out brohs 3**_


	16. Urges

_**AN: Okay, so this chapter is short, not because I didn't put the time into it, but because it just kind of needed to happen for plot, and it would end up being weird if I had mushed it and the next chapter together.**_

 _ **It's still VERY eventful though, so enjoy :)**_

An entire day had gone by, and Dipper was starting to wonder if Bill was actually going to save him. He hadn't been able to sleep, since they didn't let him down from the chains, so the most he got was a moment of blackness before the pain in his arms yanked him back awake, making it impossible to ignore his thoughts.

Maybe it was more convenient for Bill to just let them kill him. What a shitty way to go out. He had survived getting shot at with Ford while working more intense cases, and had survived Bill's torture, and now he was just going to die by the hands of an angry little redhead. Great.

Being that this was at least the third time that month that he actually thought he was going to die, he didn't bother going through the motions. He might still survive, so that was cool, and if he did die, well then that might be okay too. Mabel and his family would be sad and everything, but at least he would be free from Bill.

Or would he? There still wasn't a lot of certainty about what would happen when he died. Would he turn into a full demon on his own, or was there some sort of ritual that needed to take place? He hated not knowing.

"Ey ya pixie fuck, we haven't heard a lick from yer boyfriend. Think he forgot about ye?" The younger man was straddling one of the metal chairs in front of Dipper, and flicking his butterfly knife around.

"Pretty sure people usually say fairy, not pixie." Dipper was trying to ignore the fact that Bill may have actually left him for dead. It honestly hurt his feelings, though he didn't want to admit it, and it put him in a sour mood.

"I don't really care either way." The knife landed wrong in the kid's hand and gave him a small cut, making blood ooze out onto his palm. "Fuckin' knife don't turn right."

 _I bet his blood would look amazing splattered all over the walls! Look at how vibrant and red it is!_

A pressure in Dipper's chest began to build and he looked down, trying to avoid seeing anymore of the blood.

 _You could break these chains and rip his throat open. Just change and eat him. Then when his brother comes to check on him, you can eat him too!_

"Can't stand blood?" he chuckled.

Dipper took a few deep breaths as he shook his head. He had to keep thinking about his family. Think about what kept him human. Mabel. Ford. Stan. Wendy. Soos. Mabel. Ford. Wendy. . .

What if that was the only way he was ever going to see them again? What if he had to kill to be with them? Could he do it?

 _Mabel will be so lost and hurt without you, she wouldn't stop loving you for doing what you_ had _to do. Just kill him. I bet his flesh is really soft and squishy._

No. He couldn't. They had at least been decent enough to give him food and water, and of course let him down to use the bathroom when he needed to while he was stuck down there, so it wasn't like they were doing this out of spite. There was no way he could bring himself to do it.

Well. At least, he would wait until he absolutely had no other option. Maybe Bill hadn't given up on him. He should at least wait until the fourth day. Once they came down to kill him, then he would fight back. Until then, he would need to just relax, wait, and try not to think about the horrible pressure in his chest and sharp pain in his gut. And the voices screaming in his head.

Bill said to just go with it though, right? That couldn't be too hard to do. Ignore the pain, agree with the voice.

Fine. He would eat them, if he needed to. Yes, it would probably feel good to tear their throats open with his teeth. Sure, his blood would be fun to paint the walls with.

Oddly enough, it had actually kind of helped. The voice didn't seem to shout at him when he agreed with it, and the pressure did okay if he just focused on thinking.

"What're ya meditatin' er somethin'? It's just blood ya puss. Ya gonna pass out on me?" The kid put his mouth over the cut and stared at Dipper.

"I'm fine. You should probably go clean that." Dipper kept his head down and his voice was low. Man it was hard not tearing through the chains right then. The insults weren't going to help the kid stay alive, and Dipper was sure that if he called him just the right name, he would probably lose his temper.

"Yeah yeah, I'm gettin' on it. Don't have too much fun without me."

Once he left, Dipper was left alone for hours. So many, that he was sure another day had passed, with the older one only occasionally coming down for water or bathroom breaks.

He was much nicer than his younger brother, but he definitely didn't speak as much, and generally kept to himself whenever he was around Dipper. Which was fine, Dipper preferred that over his loud and annoying little brother.

While he was left alone though, the silence in the basement would start to get to him. The only thing he could hear other than the chains occasionally clinking together, or random laughter from upstairs, was the voice in his head.

Oh god did it get loud at some points, even if he agreed with it.

 _You could be out of here by now! Why wait just kill them!_

 _It would be best to kill both. Wouldn't want to leave one of the brothers alive to sulk over the other._

 _Could you imagine how warm their blood is? It would feel so good flowing over your cold limbs._

 _It would be their fault, really. They're the ones who grabbed you. They deserve to die!_

 _They probably do this all the time! Imagine how many lives you would be saving if you just slaughtered them!_

 _Kill them!_

"Stop!" he shouted to himself. Dipper had finally had enough after another day had gone by. At this point he was pretty sure Bill had given up on him. Or he was having trouble finding him. He doubted the second one.

Which made him angry. Bill Cipher, the demon who let others do his dirty work for him. The one who had confessed his love then left Dipper for dead. How fucked up.

He ran his hand over his face and sighed. Wait. His hand was free. While he was getting upset over Bill, his body had changed and tore the chains off.

Shit. If he had lost control over changing, then there was no way he could hold back if someone had come down there with him.

Dipper was pretty sure the three days were just about up, so it was fine, he guessed. At least this way he could fight back. He just needed to calm down a little so that he wouldn't eat anyone. God he didn't want to eat anyone.

They kept the lights either off or really low while it was just him down there, which would usually bother him, but now that he could use his demon eyes, he could see the room perfectly, which would give him an advantage of hiding while he was alone.

He hid himself against the wall with the stairs, so that he would end up behind anyone that came down. Should he venture upstairs after calming down though? Or should he wait to ambush them when they came to check on him? Either way, he still needed to relax first. His body was so ready to kill right then.

The light flickered on, and Dipper looked up at the stairs in shock. There was no way he could handle being around one of them right then.

He felt an icy chill go up his spine and his body tensed up. It was about to kill whoever was coming down those steps, and Dipper knew he couldn't stop it. There was no way he could.

"It's just about time we get ta kill y-" The older man froze when he saw that the chains were empty. He turned to climb back up the stairs, but was met with blue, glowing eyes.

Dipper threw the man into the wall, and didn't give him any time to recover from it. He grabbed him by the throat and smiled, showing off his sharp teeth.

"W-what the fuck are you?" the man gurgled through his tight throat.

Instead of responding, Dipper felt his body fill with a warm sensation. It felt amazing. It was as if he had just taken some drug that cured all of his aching joints and made him giggly.

What happened next was both horrifying and interesting to Dipper. As his body bit down into the man's throat, he felt as if he was just watching some horror movie. His body was on autopilot, and was doing whatever felt good, while he sat back and stared behind the blue eyes.

His teeth ripping the flesh from the muscle and bone made his jaw tingle in a great way. The sound and feel of the bones snapping and crunching in his hands sent waves of pleasure up his arms. How warm the blood was felt euphoric over his chilled skin, and his body was sure to be messy enough to get himself drenched in it. Even the man's muffled screams in the beginning of it all were exhilarating and made his body even more excited to kill him.

Once his body had had its fill of the gore, Dipper got on to his knees and felt himself breathing heavily. His mind was coming down from the high it had given itself, and he was stuck staring at the mess he had made until it had come down.

He had eaten more than he thought he would. Most of the skin was peeled from his limbs, and he had tore the ribcage open. Oh, the heart had been the best part. It was still beating, just a little bit, by time Dipper had gotten to it, and the memory of his teeth digging into it, and the buzzing sensation it sent through his own chest, was burned into his head forever. It had been the most amazing thing he had ever felt.

His entire body shuddered and he felt like he might start sobbing. He had just murdered and eaten a man. How fucking disgusting. It felt amazing, but Dipper hated himself. Death would be welcome at this point. He deserved to be kicked to death then spat on.

Well… it had been self defense though, right? The man was ready to kill Dipper, and probably would have if Dipper hadn't acted first. God, was he really trying convince himself that what he had just done was okay?

His vision was blurry, and he couldn't really focus on the world around him, but he did hear the basement door open, and could tell someone was walking right towards him.

There was no point in looking up at who it was. They were just going to start beating him anyway. He didn't flinch though, when the man kneeled next to him. He just sat in his drugged up state, and waited for the pain. Hopefully his body was a little numb, so that he didn't have to feel the full force of the attack, but he would take it either way.

The man leaned forward and. . . hugged him? It was a tight hug. One of the man's hands was in his hair, pulling him closer, and the other was around his waist, nearly lifting him up.

Dipper knew this smell, this warmth. It was Bill. What was with the hug though? It felt like an actual, "I missed you" kind of hug.

Bill said something to him, but Dipper's brain didn't pick it up. He just fell against Bill and let himself be hugged. Even though it was from Bill, a hug was needed right then.

He seemed to be covered in blood as well, and as he picked Dipper up, carrying him bridal style, Dipper could feel that the blood on him was still warm.

It was dark outside, and the brisk air helped bring Dipper out of his head.

Bill set him down in the passenger seat of his car, then ran around the front and got in quickly. "Feeling okay? Can you hear me now?"

"Mm." Dipper turned his head to face Bill, and saw that he had mixed emotions on his face. One was annoyed, and the other was worried. Were they both aimed at Dipper?

He couldn't help but let his lips twitch into a small smile while staring at him. Even if Bill was annoyed with him, he had still rescued him. It had hurt Dipper to think that he wasn't coming, and to see that he did, for whatever reason, was nice.

"Good. Let's get you home." Bill sped off in the car, texting someone while making his way back to the mansion.

As soon as they got home, Bill helped Dipper walk to his bedroom so that he could help him get cleaned up.

"You're going to see your family soon. I made a promise to let them see you when this was over. I'll explain it more later. For now, let's get you feeling one hundred percent again." Bill started to take Dipper's shirt off, but Dipper grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"You're being comforting. This is weird." He met Bill's eyes and had to blink a few times to focus his sight. He still felt a little sluggish, but was coming to now that he was with Bill.

Bill lightly took Dipper's hand off of his, then cupped his face. "I told you I would be nicer. Do you have any idea what this ordeal made this brain go through? I couldn't stop it from hugging you when I found you. Accept the kindness you jackass." Though his voice sounded harsh, Dipper could see that Bill had a small smile on his face.

"Fine, fine," he chuckled. "Just. . . help me get my mind off of what I just did?" He wasn't sure what Bill would have in mind exactly, but anything would help at that point. He needed to be out of his head, for whatever reason.

His smile turned into a smirk, and he let his hand slip from Dipper's face. "Well, there is one thing I can think of that will distract you. You have to promise to get your head back to where it needs to be afterwards though, okay?"

Dipper nodded. "I can do that. I can definitely, hopefully do that."

Bill kissed him lightly and sighed. "I'll help you through it, I suppose."

"Thank you," he breathed. The thanks felt weird, but it was genuine. Any help, even if it was only because Bill needed his own body to feel okay, was good help. His head was so turned around about everything right then, and he was desperately ready for a distraction. Even if that meant that Bill was the distraction.

 _ **AN: The smut that fits after this chapter can be found here ( X )**_

 _ **Hope you enjoyed FunDip giving into his horrible thoughts! :D**_

 _ **Next chapter is probs gonna be hella long and has LOTS happen in it. This bad boy only has a few chapters left, so brace yourselves, the end is coming! I totes have a sequel planned out though, so if y'all finish this and want more, let me know! If I get a high enough demand, I'll start the sequel up right away, but if not, then I'll likely take a break from it before getting back into it. Anyway, thanks for reading! Reviews are always welcome!**_


	17. A New Hope

_**AN: Chapter title 1000% inspired by Ruby1334's comment on the last chapter on AO3 with the lovely Star Wars reference XD**_

 _ **Oh my god this is 22 pages and 9,583 words. Longest chapter for sure.**_

 _ **Anyway, it kinda switches around POV's so that important bits can be mentioned, so sorry if that feels awkward at all.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

A single sunbeam poked its way through Mabel's window, and disrupted her sleep. She hadn't minded it though, since she was having a nightmare about Dipper.

After Bill had left Ford's office a few days earlier, Mabel had nightmares about how it could have gone much worse. Bill could've been coming in to tell them that Dipper was dead. Ford could've shot him, or even worse, Bill could've had a gun of his own and shot Ford.

She shivered at the thoughts and shook her head. No more bad for this day. Today felt like it was going to be a good day. Dipper would return to her, and she would be able to give her twin a hug.

Rolling out of bed, she felt a wave of energy go through her. This day was going to be a good day.

She got dressed in a colorful outfit, that consisted of a bright blue T-shirt and bright orange shorts, that had rainbows stitched into the outside of the pockets. The T-shirt had a large smiley face on it, that had glitter all over it, and whenever she moved, glitter would fall off of it. A super happy outfit that left glitter wherever she went; a good outfit for a good day.

Over the years, she kept her hair long, and was used to pulling it into a messy bun so that she wouldn't need to deal with it, but today felt like a day to leave it all down and let the world see her energy.

Ford had been a mess over Dipper going missing. He debated on trying to find him, but for some reason seemed too afraid to go through with it. He had told her that Bill wasn't what he seemed to be, but what could've possibly scared him away from looking for Dipper?

She shook her head and made her way out of her apartment, determined to bring cheer to his office, since today was her day off. There was no way her family was going to stay in this slump while Dipper was gone. He would come back. He had to.

"Whoa, someone looks happy today," Wendy smiled. "Good to see you out of that dark cloud you've been stuck in." She spun in her chair to watch Mabel walk to Ford's office door.

"Today is a happy day Wendy! We're being happy today!" She flung Ford's door open and presented him with the water bottle she had brought him. He had probably only been drinking coffee for the past few days, and likely hadn't even remembered that water existed.

He looked up from his laptop and nearly slammed it closed. Must've been some sensitive information that Mabel wasn't meant to see. She was okay with that; blood and gore was totally not her thing.

"I brought you some water, and you're going to take at least a few gulps of it while I'm here. I'm pretty sure your body needs something other than crappy office coffee." She shoved the bottle to him and sat on his desk, kicking her legs back and forth.

He chuckled and opened it, taking a large swig. "Thank you sweetheart. You seem to be in quite the good mood today. Good news?"

Her smile dropped a little, but she kept her vibrant demeanor. "Nope, just sick of feeling sad. All of us are going to feel happy today darn it! Then we can go back to being icky."

Wendy joined them in the room and sat on the desk next to Mabel, earning a strange glance from Ford. "What up dudes? Thought I'd join the fun train since everywhere else in this building feels gray and dead."

Mabel's eyes widened and she jumped off the desk for a moment. "I'll be right back!" She rocketed out of the room, in search of her favorite handy-man. It wouldn't be a family party without him.

Once she had found him in the lower area of the building, changing a lightbulb, she dragged him back up the stairs, and into Ford's office.

"Mabel, I'm all for us being together, but we've all got work to do." Ford ran a hand through his graying hair, and looked like he was itching to open his laptop back up.

She stood in front of the door, trapping all of them inside. "I know, but grunkle Ford, we all need a minute to just appreciate that we have each other. I don't care if it sounds sappy, but I love you guys, and want to take a minute to be happy."

He stared at her for a moment before nodding. "Alright, that's fine. But only for a little while."

"Oh, dude, we could have a dance party. I could like, make the lights strobe or something," Soos chuckled.

Mabel laughed at the notion, but shook her head. "Not enough time! But we could totally blast some music! Grunkle Ford, open up that laptop and play some tunes!" She pointed her finger to the ceiling and put the other on her hip. "Play the most upbeat song you can find!"

Ford pulled the laptop off the desk and onto his lap, so that no one could see what he had open on it, then searched for a song that he hated, but had heard Mabel singing to a few times.

"Ah yeah, I love this song!" Wendy hopped down from the desk, and grabbed Soos by the wrist so that she could pull him along to her dancing.

Mabel followed by pulling Ford out of his chair, and pulling him around the room, switching off to dance with Wendy or Soos every so often.

The song was almost over, and Mabel felt a buzzing in her bra where she kept her phone.

"Hello?" she shouted over the music.

The person responded, but she couldn't hear them over the song.

"Hang on a sec!" She flung herself over to the laptop just enough to hit the pause button, then cleared her throat. "Okay, go."

"Mabel, are you free today? You and Ford, and everyone?"

She nearly dropped the phone and tears welled up in her eyes. "Dipper?"

Everyone in the room froze and stared at her intently, listening to the conversation.

"Heh, yeah, it's me. Sorry I haven't uh, been around. The last few days have sucked." He sounded so tired, and his voice was hoarse, as if he had been shouting a lot.

"No, no! It's okay. No, none of us are busy at all today. Why, did you want to hang out?"

"Please, yes," he laughed. "Bill set up a picnic for us today. I'll text you the address, 'kay?"

She took a deep breath and smiled. "Sure thing bro-bro. Stay safe until I get to you, okay? I love you Dipping Sauce."

"Love you too Mabes."

The line went quiet and she looked up to the others in the room with a large smile on her face. "I told you today was a happy day! Ford, call Stan and tell him we're going to a picnic! No excuses!"

"Yuss! Food and family, it's like, my two favorite things!" Soos high-fived Mabel and she looked to Wendy.

"You in?"

"Ah, duh, of course! I've missed that nerd!" She high-fived Mabel as well and everyone looked to Ford, who looked deep in thought. "Ford, I know exactly why you don't like Bill, but if it means we get to see Dipper, then we should all go."

He looked at Wendy with wide eyes for a moment then nodded. "Right. Give me the details and I'll tell Stan. But Wendy, we're both bringing our guns."

Dipper woke up in his bed, with Bill holding him tightly. The demon was still asleep, so Dipper figured his body was the one that had missed having another person there to cuddle. He had even gone to bed alone, so at some point in the night, Bill had snuck into bed with him.

It was nice to know that Dipper had won over the human half of him, but it was still strange to see how clingy it had made him. The night before, when he was still soaked in blood, Bill had taken care of him and didn't leave his side until he went to bed. And even that obviously hadn't lasted long.

He wiggled his way out of Bill's arms, not caring if he woke the other up, and stretched out his arms while yawning.

"Pine Tree," the demon grumbled "I was comfortable."

Dipper cracked a smile at Bill's annoyance, and yelped when Bill yanked him back down by the collar of his T-shirt. "Hey!"

Bill pulled him back into the warm embrace and let out a sigh. "What time is it?"

"I would know if you had let me look at my cell phone."

With a mumble of disapproval, Bill loosened his grip on Dipper, just enough that he could reach out and grab his phone from the small nightstand next to his bed.

"Nine. Still early," he yawned again. "Huh. Usually I'm not this awake. Weren't you worried about me sleeping too much?"

Bill chuckled and pulled Dipper as close as he could before stretching out and yawning. "Worried isn't the word I would use. Annoyed is a lot closer. I may have given you too much magic too quickly, and your body was overwhelmed by the amount of energy. It tried to sleep it off, but that wasn't working. Luckily, your little adventure, and you tearing that guy apart wore you out enough to counter it. I imagine you didn't sleep well, and eating a human raw like that does take a lot out of ya."

"Wow, can we please not talk about that?" Dipper winced as strange, half memories rushed into his head of him tearing the man apart. It was disgusting. He even remembered trying to convince himself that what he had done was okay.

The demon let out a huff and started to twirl bits of Dipper's hair around his fingers. "You're going to need to address it. The more you try and repress these things, the more it's going to backfire on you. You can build a mental dam that's stronger than diamond, but it's still going to crack some day. And when it does, you can bet your ass it isn't going to trickle. It's going to fucking explode."

"You mean that metaphorically right? Like this demon shit won't actually make me explode?" Dipper tried to turn and face Bill, but Bill nudged him back into place to get comfortable again.

"Well, depends on what you hold back. If you hold back strong enough magic for too long, yes, you will most definitely physically explode. Emotions? Eh, you'll just have a violent mental breakdown that may or may not cause you to go insane. Depends on a lot of stuff which way it'll go. Just, admit to yourself what you did. No one's perfect kid. Your primal part of your brain did most of it anyway. Your common sense was shut down entirely and you acted on instinct."

Dipper sucked in a deep breath and thought for a moment. Bill was right. He freaked out and his body did what it felt like it had to do. That didn't mean that it was okay, that just meant that it had happened. He had to accept that. "What, uh… what happens after people die? Do they go to that weird space you mentioned?"

"I told you about the 'weird space'?" Bill's voice sounded like he was legitimately confused as to when he had mentioned it, but he just shook it off and let out a breathy laugh. "That's too long of a story to tell right now Pine Tree. But, for an answer to put you at ease, no. Only those who are meant to, or are turning into demons, go there. His soul most definitely did not go there."

"I'll have to get you drunk more often. You seem to like to tell me stories that provide useful information." Dipper was finally able to wiggle out of Bill's grasp, and he got off the bed so that he could change out of his pajamas.

"Your soul is going there, Pine Tree. When you die. And I'll be there to pick it up and do what I want with it. Oh, I bet it's shiny."

He looked back at Bill and gave him an odd look. The demon looked like he was daydreaming, and had a fond smile on his face. "My soul is really that interesting to you?"

"Kid, your soul is an engagement ring with a twenty carat diamond. It sure looks pretty, but it's probably too big to look good on a finger."

"What the fuck does that even mean Bill?" Dipper couldn't help but let out a laugh as he stripped out of his pajamas and into comfortable outfit, that consisted of a black button up shirt and dark blue jeans. He rolled up the sleeves to his elbows, and looked at Bill, who was just laughing at him. "Seriously, you are so hard to understand sometimes." Dipper sat back down on the bed and looked at his cell phone.

There had been several missed calls, from both Mabel and Ford, and a few texts from Mabel saying that she missed him. It made him cringe, and he felt horrible for having worried them so much.

Bill kneeled behind him and rested his head on Dipper's shoulder, reading the texts. "I promised them they could see you once I found you. Which, by the way, I visited Ford, was met with a gun to the face, he mentioned that he knew what I was, I laughed at him, then told him to stay out of my way while I looked for you. And that took longer than I expected, since Shawn kept getting in my way. That guy really has it out for you."

Dipper scoffed. "Great. Ford is going to have a million questions for me. And yeah, I've noticed. He seems to be the one causing most of my strife."

"I'm going to kill him soon. Give 8-Ball a promotion and have him take his place. After some digging I'm pretty sure he's one of the ones plotting against me. Which," he sighed "sucks dick because I gave him a lot of power. Fighting him won't be easy. I just hope he doesn't catch on to my plans before I can rip his heart out."

"Is that how demons die? I've seen you do it before, so is that like, the way it's always done?" Dipper asked the question as casually as possible, hoping that Bill would give some information on how to off him. No matter how nice Bill was being, and no matter what the bond made Dipper feel, he was still determined to stop Bill. He had to be stopped.

The demon lazily swung his right around over Dipper's shoulder and put his hand on Dipper's chin, tilting his head towards him. "Mostly, yes. Stronger demons, such as myself, require a little more." He paused for a moment, then traced his hand down to Dipper's throat. "Why?"

Bill had definitely noticed his intent. Shit. He really didn't want to ruin this cozy thing they had going. "Just curious. You even said yourself, I have a thirst for knowledge. I don't mean anything by it."

His hand tightened on Dipper's throat and he held him there for a moment, enjoying his struggle to breathe. "You'd better not, Pine Tree," he hissed. "I'm starting to like you, and I've told you before, you shouldn't fuck that up. Understand?"

Dipper nodded as best as he could, and let out harsh, dry coughs when Bill's hand moved away. He hated that it had both terrified and aroused him. It was awful that Bill could do that to him.

"Good. Now call your sister. I'm setting up a picnic for your family and we're going to have a lovely brunch with them. Today's weather is perfect for it." Bill hopped off the bed and faced Dipper. "I don't take threats lightly. Especially while I'm dealing with a traitor. Don't test me right now. I have to cool myself off to deal with being around your family."

"You're coming too?" Dipper nearly shouted. His throat felt gross now, and his voice was all raspy.

Bill laughed, but Dipper could see that he was now annoyed and pissed off. "Of course. Bonding with my boyfriend's family is important, blah, blah, blah. Just call her. I need to relax before I do anything." He stormed out of the room and Dipper sighed.

He shouldn't have tried to wiggle that question in while Bill was talking about someone backstabbing him. As much as he still wanted to stop and get rid of Bill, he still wanted to be on his good side. It was better than being beaten and threatened all the time.

Before dialing Mabel, Dipper agreed to himself that the following things needed to happen in the next few days: get back on Bill's lovey good side so that he didn't suspect his want to stop him, and still work on getting his head back into finding ways to stop Bill.

Ford having the videos was a great step, one that had cost him dearly, but he needed more. The most solid way to get rid of Bill, would hopefully, be to kill him. Dipper didn't care what kind of backlash it would cause, Bill's death would be a good thing. Dipper knew that it would be.

He forced himself to stop thinking about it though. He didn't know what the whole bond thing did in terms of sharing thoughts, and he couldn't risk Bill knowing that he still plotting against him. There was no telling what he would do to him if Dipper broke his human's side heart. Probably eat his. Man the heart was the best part.

Wait, no don't think about that. "Ugh." Dipper rubbed his eyes and sighed. Now his own thoughts were going back to the whole murder thing.

Whatever, he could ignore it for now. First, he had to call Mabel and let her know that Bill had set up a picnic.

"Hello?" There was loud music playing, and Dipper could barely hear her.

"Mabel?"

"Hang on a sec!" The music stopped, and she sighed into the phone. "Okay, go."

"Mabel, are you free today? You and Ford, and everyone?" He doubted that she would say no, but he figured he should ask anyway to be sure.

"Dipper?" He could hear a strain in her voice and it made him cringe.

"Heh, yeah, it's me. Sorry I haven't uh, been around. The last few days have sucked." He felt a little more open to talk to her like he usually did, since Bill wasn't in the room.

"No, no! It's okay. No, none of us are busy at all today. Why, did you want to hang out?"

"Please, yes," he laughed. "Bill set up a picnic for us today. I'll text you the address, 'kay?" He was relieved to hear that she was just as eager as he was to see each other. It made him feel a little better about the last few days. No matter what happened, he had Mabel, who would always love and support him.

"Sure thing bro-bro. Stay safe until I get to you, okay? I love you Dipping Sauce."

"Love you too Mabes." He set his phone down on the bed and smiled at it like a dork. He was so excited to see his family. Even if Bill was going to be there, being his creepy human self, it was going to be nice to see them all. Awkward, for sure, but nice.

With the human left in the room, Bill wandered into a room he had built just for moments like this. He needed to cool off or he was going to tear Pine Tree's family to shreds. Having discovered Shawn had been plotting against him, and the fact that Pine Tree sounded like he was trying to as well, made him fill with rage.

This stupid human brain couldn't handle Dipper turning on him, not while it was so enthralled with him. He didn't want to have to go through heartbreak. It sounded shitty, and took up too much time.

His relaxation room was one that only he had ever been in, and it was his sacred place to connect back with his demon self. It was a room in the basement, a place Pine Tree was not allowed in, and he kept all of his artifacts in there to remind himself of the direction he wanted to take this realm.

Fires burning for thousands of years along the bottom, and icy wastelands filled with horrible beasts at the top. The parts along the equator were where he would keep his demons -those who didn't want to live in the fires or ice anyway- and set up areas of where he could keep the humans that survived his terror.

Not like there would be many of them, but still. He would probably have to keep Pine Tree's family alive and well, just so that he was willing to keep playing the part of his pet, but they would die off of old age soon enough, so it wouldn't be too big of an issue.

He took a deep breath and ran his fingers over one of the objects. A small ball, mostly made of stone, that had runes carved into it, allowing anyone with magic to turn it into activate it and turn it into a deadly casting ball, which would allow the person holding it to set horrible fires in the blink of an eye. Definitely one he would be handing off to a lesser demon to run rampant with.

After reminiscing over the objects for a few minutes, he forced himself to take another deep breath, then left the room.

Damn it he was Bill Cipher, and no backstabbing asshole was going to overthrow him. He was just too damn powerful for that kind of bullshit to get in his way.

Ah, it was good to feel confident again. This world was going to be his, and no one was stopping that.

Pine Tree was in the kitchen, mindlessly snacking on some chips that Bill had gotten just for the human, and he decided against sneaking up in him. The damn thing was probably upset over the choking thing, and was likely going to sass him over it.

He hated it, but he thought he'd better apologize. His brain loathed it when the human was upset with him. "Sorry about the pain thing, earlier. I wasn't in the mood to deal with anything right then."

Dipper looked up at him with his big chocolate eyes and blinked a few times before responding. "No, it's okay. I shouldn't have asked such a dumb question while you were upset about someone going behind your back."

Weird, usually Pine Tree wasn't this eager to be on his good side after Bill lashed out at him. Whatever, he probably just didn't want to fight just before they met his family.

The two sat across from each other, and Bill told Dipper where the picnic was to be held. While Pine Tree texted his sister, Bill texted some of his prawns and told them to set the picnic up and to have it ready in an hour.

It was fun having people do whatever you wanted. Even better to have a feisty one around that fought back a little.

Bill nudged Dipper with his foot under the table and smiled at him, making sure to show up his sharp teeth. They filled the human with excitement and terror at the same time, and it was hilarious to watch both emotions fly past the his face. "You thinking about something kid? I can see it in your eyes."

Dipper's eyes drifted from Bill's teeth to his eyes, just like Bill wanted them to, then he nodded. "Yeah, just about what I'm going to tell Ford. He'll probably buy most of what I say, but I just want to rehearse it in my head, so that I don't stutter and sound like I'm lying."

"Oh? Interesting." Bill let his teeth round out and looked down at the table. He really did want to talk to Pine Tree, to see just how interesting he was, but didn't want to let him know just how overly attached his brain was, and how attached he was starting to get. That damn soul of his was just too… cognitive and full of fire.

"Uh, what are you thinking about?" he said slowly. Maybe the kid's interest was starting to peak about the other as well.

Bill looked back up at him and smirked. "I'm thinking about the universe as a whole, the way it ticks and how many brothers and sisters have popped up beside it, each holding a piece of the other, mirroring each other in such a way that they're more like shadows of the original. Some are like twins, such as yourself, where others are more of distant relatives, only holding small pieces of the others."

"Jesus Christ, sorry I asked," he laughed.

That stupid fucking laugh made Bill's heart flutter, and he was glad that he had done something right in his body's eyes.

"I was being serious though, that's the kind of shit I think about when I'm not busy trying to figure mundane things out. Do you understand what I said?" Bill tapped the table expectantly and rested his head on his other hand. It might be fun to try and seduce his soul, and get closer in that aspect.

"I mean, yeah I do. Like, multiverse stuff, right? All of the different types of universes that exist because of different decisions, or timelines. Some are more like each other than others, being almost exactly the same but with minor differences, where others are vastly different and have little to nothing in common. You just spat it out like some sort of fortune cookie, so I was weirded out."

Bill let out a laugh, one that was more genuine that he wanted it to be, and cleared his throat. Maybe it would be worth it to try and like Pine Tree with his soul as well as his body. The kid did seem smart enough to keep up with him. "Kid, if I always spoke like I thought, then no one would like me. They'd see me as a giant fucking douche, as well as a giant nerd. I know lots of stuff Pine Tree, secrets you humans think are impossible to learn. Catch me in the right mood and I'll share some of them."

God he was hoping that he was flirting with him right. Knowledge was seductive right? How does one flirt with just their soul? Fuck it would be nice not to be so up and down about his feelings towards this human. His body was already head over heels, so having his soul down with it as well was ideal. It was just hard to get past the fact that he didn't want to want another soul.

Having wants was exhausting, but it seemed like the pros outweighed the cons with the soul sitting in front of him. Keeping this human around was going to be a good idea, he could feel it.

"What about right now? Could I ask you something?"

Bill was caught off guard a bit by the question, but shrugged and allowed it. "Sure kid, what's on your mind? Nothing too big, we've got to head out soon."

The human stared at him for a little while, before clearing his throat and nodding. "Right, uh, well, you mentioned that my soul is going to go to the weird place. I won't be in there for long, will I? How much will I remember of it?"

Again, Bill let out a hearty laugh. "Oh boy, kid you worry too much. No, I won't leave you there for long at all, and you'll remember as much as you want to. It's too complicated to explain until it happens, but I'll help you through it when it does."

Dipper nodded and looked down at the table.

Great, the kid was anxious about death. It wasn't that big of a deal, really, but he guessed it probably was to a human. They live their whole lives not knowing what the hell happens to them after death, so sure it could be scary.

"Hey, it won't be bad. I'll make it painless and you'll end up enjoying it. Death really isn't that big of a deal." The kid wasn't going to trust a word he said, but hey, at least he tried to comfort him. "Anyway, let's head out. We don't want your family waiting on us at our picnic."

Dipper stared at the demon as he got up from his chair and rushed off to his room to make sure he looked pristine and clean cut for Dipper's family. "We're going to be late if you groom yourself too much!" he shouted after him.

The demon ignored him, and Dipper just rolled his eyes at the silence. Bill was being weird. He was so up and down about how he treated Dipper, and it was becoming a little confusing. He understood that his body liked him a lot, and that his soul wasn't _that_ fond of him, but was still a little, but it was hard to base the feelings off of that. Which ones were his, and which ones were Bill's?

Sure, he knew that his own feelings weren't very strong, since he still harbored a hatred for Bill, but there still was _something_ there, and that was hard to deal with.

He shook his head and focused himself on how he needed to act for his family. Luckily after he had eaten that guy, the voice was either silent or so quiet in the back of his head it was easy to ignore, so he didn't have to worry about it while he was around them. As for keeping himself together though? That might prove to be kind of hard.

Ever since he had met Bill, he was holding back some tears, and hadn't been able to let them out, since it never felt like the time to, but he knew being around his family might make it hard to keep them in.

Bill pranced back out of his room, in a much better mood, and wrapped an arm around Dipper's shoulders. "Let's get to it!" He was wearing one of his cargo jackets, and had a light pair of jeans on.

"It's a bit too warm for a jacket and jeans, don't you think?" Dipper didn't mean to sound motherly towards Bill, but it was strange to him that the demon always seemed to wear warm clothes, even though it wasn't quite Fall yet.

He shrugged as he walked to the door and slipped his expensive tennis shoes on. "This damn body is thin. It gets cold pretty easily. Not to mention when it gets dark it gets colder, and we might end up being out late."

The ride there was somewhat short, since there was a freeway that lead right to the wooded area that Bill had planned the picnic at, and his family was already there. They had only been waiting for a few minutes, but Dipper still felt bad that they hadn't beat them there.

"Dipper!" Mabel launched herself onto Dipper and held him in a tight embrace.

He hugged her back, and was glad that bitten Bill during their "fun" times. If he hadn't, he would still be sore and aching all over, and the tight hug would hurt.

"You're okay, right?" She spoke quietly and only moved back from him a little bit to speak. "Bill seemed worried about you."

"You were there when he talked with Ford?" Did she know that Bill was a demon then? God, if any of them found out what Dipper had turned into- no. They wouldn't. They couldn't know what he did. He wouldn't let them see that side of him.

Bill suddenly had his hand on Dipper's shoulder, and tugged at him lightly. "Let's go eat and chat, shall we?"

There was a lovely picnic table set up in a clearing, that was just past a creek that had freakishly clear water running through it.

Dipper wondered for a moment if Bill was somehow using magic to make the area look more pleasant to relax everyone, since he had never seen the trees around this area look so green, or the air feel so fresh.

They all sat down at the table, Ford, Wendy, Stan, and Soos all sitting on the other side of Bill, Dipper, and Mabel, who had insisted on being next to Dipper.

"I feel like I've missed a lot here," Stan chuckled. He was dressed in what Ford called his, "Con Man Suit", and looked like he was trying to process what had taken place over the past month or so.

Dipper looked at each of their faces, and felt horrible. Not only had he unknowingly dragged them all into the path of a power hungry demon, he had left them all out of the loop and worried them sick. They were all staring at him, examining the bags under his eyes, the lack of muscle that used to be so firm against his clothes, and the paled tone of his skin.

Bill chuckled and nudged his arm. "Does he do this for you guys too, or does he just break for me?"

Mabel let out a snort and it made Dipper realize that he had been staring off into space. "Nah, he does this to everyone. Come back to Earth Dipdop, we've missed you here."

He smiled meekly and met everyone's stares. "Sorry, I'm bad at gatherings, you all know this," he chuckled. God he hoped that lightened the mood a little. Magic or no, the atmosphere was only keeping the tension low for so long, and he could feel that Bill and Ford were throwing glares at each other.

"Psht, don't worry bro, we all know you've been," she paused for a split second and he could hear her breath hitch "preoccupied."

Dipper nodded. "Well, anyway, sorry I've been distant. I wasn't expecting a relationship," he chuckled.

After a little while of silence and eating the sandwiches from Bill's bakery, Stan pipped up and cleared his throat before speaking. "How'd you two meet anyways?" Stan nudged Ford's shoulder and scoffed at him. "I bet this nerd left out some details when we spoke."

Oh, no. Dipper froze up a little. Okay, deep breath, then spit out the lie. He had practiced lying to them for days now, he could do this. "I met him at a club he owns. I got lost and I just ran into him, then we started talking, and we've just kinda been together since." He forced a smile, hoping to god that it looked natural.

Stan nodded and let out a chuckle. "I met a girl like that once. Ended with a fire and a seven car pile up. No one died, but you know how women are about stuff like that."

Dipper, Mabel, Wendy, and Soos all burst out into laughter at that, and it left Bill and Ford staring at Stan. Ford looked mostly un-amused, but still concerned, and Bill stared at him only for a moment before looking back at Ford, then at Dipper and Mabel.

"Hey, I just realized you're both sets of twins! That's hilarious!" Bill nudged Dipper's shoulder. "Maybe if we ever adopt kids we'll do a set of twins to keep it in the family!"

It felt like the air got knocked out of his lungs and he coughed on the air around him. "What? Kids?"

Again, the group let out a laugh and Dipper got red in the face. He knew it was a joke, but the thought of bringing children into this mess sickened him to his core.

"Yeesh, relax, I'm totally kidding. Do you ever see me with kids? Yikes!" he chuckled.

"I can't even see you with a pet," Dipper laughed back.

"You know, I had a twin once though, so it would be funny, if we ever did." Bill kept a smile on his face, but everyone else frowned at one another.

Dipper couldn't imagine losing Mabel, and he was sure Ford and Stan were both horrified of the idea as well. "Once? What happened?" He asked the question accidentally, and cringed once it left his lips.

"Ah, you know. Different life choices lead you to different places. No big deal though, he and I were never that close."

Everyone got quiet for a moment and Dipper furrowed his brows at the demon. Was he just saying that, or had he really had a twin? Ugh he had a lot of questions now. Maybe he would try and get Bill drunk soon so that he could ask some.

Dipper could tell that Bill knew he had made the air awkward, so the demon cleared his throat and chuckled.

"Well, anyway, I brought gifts for you all, to show my appreciation for being patient with all of the hiccups our relationship has caused. Ford and Dipper, you two stay here while the rest of us go fetch them, okay?"

"Oh, Bill you didn't have to!" Mabel swatted lightly at Bill and smiled. "I'll have to make you a sweater or something!"

He waved his hand at her and stood up. "No, it's fine! Come on, I left them in the car."

The group all looked to each other before standing, and Ford nodded at Wendy as she walked with them back across the small bridge to the cars.

"So," Ford began as soon as they were alone "Cipher said you have been wanting to stay with him, even though he knows who you are now. What prompted you to tell him anyway?"

Okay, more lies, he could do this. "After I gave you the flash drive, the anxiety got the better of me, and I felt trapped, so I told him about it all. He was angry at first, of course, and we got into, to say the least, a bad fight. But, after he cooled off, he said he still wanted to keep me around if I wanted to, so I stayed."

"But why though? I know what he is now. Wendy knows too. We could help get you away from him." Ford was leaning forward on the table and had a severely confused look on his face.

Dipper took a deep breath and sighed. "It, uh, well, I still need some information on how to stop him. He's got bigger things going than just killing people." Shit, he stumbled on his words. There was no way he was going to tell Ford that one of the main reasons he wanted to stay was to make himself human again.

"I see. And you really believe that you can find a way to stop him by staying with him?" Ford seemed to be buying the lie. Dipper wasn't sure if it was because he trusted him, or if was because he basically had to accept whatever he told him.

"I do," he nodded.

Ford leaned back a little and checked to see if the others were still preoccupied. "The last few days, while you were missing; what happened then? How'd you get out of that?"

A horrible image of the bloody mess flashed in Dipper's mind and he visibly shivered at it. "Someone kidnapped me to get back at Bill, but he found me before they could really do anything."

He stared at Dipper for a moment and his face was filled with concern. "You would tell me, or someone if you weren't okay though, right? Dipper, I feel so bad for sending you into this, I-" he stopped himself and huffed. "I don't want you to suffer anymore for my mistake."

"It's not that bad, really. It could most definitely be worse. And grunkle Ford, you had no idea what Bill was when you asked me to do this. None of us had any idea that it could be something so far left field. All I know is that I want to try and stop him, and just need more time with him to do it. I'll try and spend more time with you guys when I can, but I need space to make him trust me more."

Ford nodded thoughtfully and sucked in a deep breath. "Alright, I understand. One more thing…" He cleared his throat and looked away as he tapped on the table. "You aren't actually, uh, sleeping with that thing, are you?"

Dipper felt heat rise up to his face and he was sure that he turned blood red. "I-I, uh, w-well, we ha-haven't really, uhm." He was absolutely not prepared to answer that question.

"I mean, if it's what you need to do, I'm not judging or anything, I've had a fair share of interesting partners in my day, but I was just wondering, since he mentioned it the other day." Ford was turning a little red in the face as well, and it make the conversation turn from bad to worse.

Ugh, of course Bill would have said something about it. "I mean, it's not like I, uhm." Dipper cleared his throat and felt a wave of relief wash over him when he heard the others heading back over to them.

Bill had gotten all of them personalized gifts, and sat with a smug expression as everyone enjoyed their presents.

Mabel had gotten a box filled with little knick knacks that would help her stay organized and help with her sewing, Wendy got an expensive perfume that looked like it was less of a flowery smell and more of a musk, Soos got an mp3 player with wireless headphones, and Stan got a handcrafted cane that went perfectly with his "con man" suit.

When it came to giving Ford his gift, Bill had a large smile on his face that screamed it was going to be something to make the man hate him even more.

"An old handgun?" Ford held the thing in his hand and looked amazed. It was in a nice, solid, black case, and looked like it was in pristine condition.

"I thought since you liked pointing guns so much, I'd get you one. It's a Swamp Angel Revolver. Engraved and everything. Dipper told me a lot about what stuff you guys might want, and I figured I would get you all things that would be helpful, or just nice to have."

That terrified Dipper. He had never told Bill about what his family would want. When did Bill even have the time to be this snoopy?

"Well thank you! We all love them!" Mabel was grinning from ear to ear, and pawing through the box of sewing objects.

"Yeah, thanks, I've been looking for a perfume that wasn't girly and overbearing, but still smelled great. This is perfect." Wendy did her best to smile at Bill, but couldn't find it in herself to meet his gaze for very long.

Soos was scrolling through the music on the mp3 player and seemed thrilled with the preloaded music. "Geez, this thing will be nice to have while I mop. And no cords! I'll be like an android or something. Beep Boop," he laughed while making robotic motions with his arms.

"Robot Soos! Robot Soos!" Mabel chanted and joined Soos in doing the dance.

Bill chuckled and looked genuinely amused by the dance. "I'm glad they hold up to your standards."

Ford and Dipper both examined the gun while Bill and the others talked about the gifts.

"This thing is nice," Ford whispered. "Though I feel like he's rubbing it in my face that not even a gun will stop him."

"I'm pretty sure that's exactly why he gave it to you," Dipper laughed.

"Think you might need to still carry your gun around? Just in case? It may not kill the things, but it may slow the down." Ford placed the revolver back into the case and rested it on the table.

Dipper shook his head. "A gun wouldn't help me. I'm better off just not pissing any of them off."

Ford nodded. "Alright, well, let me know if you do need anything. I'll always find a way to get anything you need to you."

The group stayed for a little while longer, all gradually talking more and more with Bill, who was doing a great job of acting like a nice human for his family.

Dipper found it a bit strange, but was glad that he decided to be nice to his family. The gifts were extremely thoughtful, -though also really creepy- so he guessed that's what helped win them over.

In the end, everyone but Ford and Wendy were thoroughly convinced that Bill was a nice, though a little weird, guy. Mabel even hugged him before they left, and Stan shook his hand while telling him that he approved of Dipper and him dating.

Once they were left alone, Dipper figured Bill would want to head home, but instead he sat him down and stared at him for a moment.

"Your family wasn't as unbearable as I thought that they would be."

"Thanks?" Dipper chuckled. His smile faded and he looked down at the table. "Bill, how did you know about those things? Those were really personalized gifts. C-can you read minds?"

Bill let out a loud laugh and shrugged with one shoulder. "Sometimes. This time it was just a matter of I have eyes everywhere. If I want to know about my boyfriend's family, then I will know about his family."

"Sometimes? So you can?" Dipper looked up at the demon with curious eyes and bit at his lip. Had he read Dipper's mind before? He hated not knowing what the demon knew.

He let out another laugh, this one with a little less energy behind it. "Let's go for a walk Pine Tree. Don't worry about the mess, someone should be here any minute to clean it up."

Dipper followed Bill into the treeline, where it slowly got kind of dark, and Dipper had to change his eyes so that he could see clearly. "What are we doing in the woods?"

"Walking. Talking. I don't know, I felt like we needed some nature. You have been cooped up indoors for like a week now." Bill absentmindedly kicked a rock and it bounced off the trunk of a tree.

"Not by choice," he mumbled. He remembered when he was younger, his mom used to complain that he needed to go outside more with Mabel, since he would spend hours reading in his room. That also reminded him that Bill had mentioned that he had had a twin. "So, your twin… I'm assuming he was your twin when you were a human?"

Bill stopped walking and leaned against a tree. "Yup. I had him and my mother. Don't really remember if I had a father or not. Doesn't matter now though."

Dipper wanted so badly to ask more about Bill's past, but was cut off by the smell of burning wood. "Do you smell that?"

The demon laughed and nodded. "I had my suspicions that Shawn would find out that I wanted to off him. I'm just glad he waited to attack once your family had left."

"What do you-" Dipper was cut off by a loud noise, that sounded like a tree falling.

"Oh, someone's pissed!" Bill's own blue fire lit up the forest area around them, and laughed as his human features changed to his demonic ones.

In a split second, Shawn appeared next to Bill, and snarled at him. "You're damn right I'm pissed! I've tried getting rid of this fucking human since you've got him, but you've been too obsessed to see that it's cutting into your work! I thought you actually wanted to waste this dimension, not fuck around with the humans!"

"How dare you even question my want to destroy this place." Bill kept his voice low and calm, making him seem even more terrifying. At least, to Dipper anyway.

"Get off it Cipher, you know you're not fit to take charge anymore, and I'm definitely not the only one who thinks it!" The demon launched himself at Bill, locking arms with him and shoving him into a tree. "I'm not weak Cipher. I'm going to beat you down and make you watch me slaughter your human." In a smooth motion, he threw Bill into another tree, which groaned and cracked at the loud thud it produced.

Bill simply took it, and sucked in a deep breath. "You've made a poor decision." The blue fire blinded Dipper for a moment, and when he could see again, Bill had chucked the other demon further into the forest, and was walking over to him casually. "Did you get your anger out? If not, then too bad. It's my turn now."

Dipper made sure to keep a good distance from the two demons, and watched in shock as they two of them fought.

Even though Bill was overflowing with confidence, Dipper could tell that the two were pretty evenly matched, and worried for a moment that Bill might actually lose.

While trying to keep away from them, Dipper noticed something shiny where Shawn had been thrown the first time. It looked like some sort of knife.

Bill couldn't see him from where the two were fighting, so Dipper decided to inspect it more. Why would a demon need a knife that was so small? It wasn't long enough to be a dagger, but wasn't quite short enough to be considered a pocket knife either.

It was sheathed in leather that felt old, and the knife itself seemed like it had seen better days. There were strange symbols carved into the hilt, and the blade itself had a strange design of snake-like figures lying along one of the faces. There was definitely something important about this knife, and Dipper wanted to know what.

After he hide it in his pants, he turned his attention back to the fighting demons, and saw that Shawn had gotten in a few good hits. Bill looked bloodied, not as bad as Shawn, but Dipper could tell that something needed to be done to intervene, since Shawn was standing over Bill, ready to strike again.

What could he do though? There was no way he could hold his own against Shawn. Well, maybe he could, for at least a minute anyway. Maybe that was what he could do. Distract the demon for just a little bit to give Bill a chance to recuperate.

"Hey, douchebag!" Dipper ran up behind the demon, and punched him in the head as hard as he could.

It definitely caught him off guard, and it made him stumble a bit, but it didn't subdue him at all, and he was quick to spin around and shove Dipper back.

He stumbled and back into a tree. Before he could right himself, the demon had has hand on Dipper's throat, squeezing it tightly.

"Aw, it thinks it can hurt me." The demon squeezed tighter, and was sure to dig his nails into Dipper's throat.

Fuck, it hurt so badly, but he had to stall for Bill to pull himself together a little bit. He tried to speak to say something that might distract him, but he couldn't get anything past the tight grip. Instead, he just kicked out at him, and used his own nails to dig into Shawn's arm.

"Little _Pine Tree_ , thinks he can put up a fight. Stupid fucking human." He raised his other hand, claws sprawled out, and was about to lunge forward and tear into Dipper, but a disgusting crunch and squish noise made him pause.

Both he and Dipper looked down, and saw Bill's hand sticking out from Shawn's chest, holding his still beating heart.

"You underestimated how long I would stay down for," Bill said softly, before digging his claws into the heart. A dim glow came from the heart, and seemed to be going into Bill's hand. "Now you're going to the void, empty of magic."

Dipper could feel the demon's grasp slowly loosen, and as the glow slowed to a stop, Shawn went limp completely.

Bill smashed the heart into a paste, then let the body fall to the floor. "You alright?"

He had to let out a few hoarse coughs before he could speak but, Dipper managed to squeak out a yes.

"Good. I'll burn the evidence of this, and we can go home." Bill was panting, and there were black lines in his yellow eyes, looking almost as if they were bloodshot.

"W-what was the heart thing about?" Dipper choked out. He rubbed at his neck and coughed a few more times.

"Took his magic. Every time a demon dies, their magic has to go somewhere, and if it isn't taken, it just goes out and disperses into bad energy. You know poltergeists and shit? That's dead demon magic fucking with people."

Dipper's eyes widened for a moment and he nodded. "Ah," was all he could manage.

Once Bill had used his fire to get rid of the blood and body, they made their way back to the car, where Dipper insisted on driving.

"I don't care who's driving, just get me home," Bill chuckled. "I need sleep."

The drive was silent, and Dipper had to keep himself adjusted a little oddly while driving, since he still had the knife tucked away.

"I'm going to bed," Bill mumbled as he walked into the house.

Dipper lightly grabbed his shoulder, earning a hissing noise from Bill. "Sorry, sorry. Just, are you sure you don't need like, medical attention at all?"

Bill waved a hand at him. "My magic will heal me if I sleep."

"Alright. Let me know how you feel in the morning." Dipper watched as the demon walked off. He could tell Bill was trying so hard not to act as hurt as he was, and it was almost amusing to see Bill being the hurt one for once.

In his own room, Dipper went to take a shower, and thought of a place that he could hide the knife from Bill. He knew it was incredibly risky to be hiding things like this from him, but there was something, otherworldly about it, and he wanted to know why Shawn had had it.

He eventually decided that he could keep it under his mattress, on top of the box spring. Hopefully it would be safe there, and hopefully Bill wouldn't ever find it.

There was only one person he could think of that might have answers on that knife, and not kill him for asking about it, but he would have to confirm his theory on who they were first. It would be a little tricky to get her alone, but Dipper would find a way to do it.

As he showered he felt relieved. He finally had something that might give him more insight on how to defeat Bill. It all depended on how she reacted to him asking about it, but if Dipper could just get her to side with him, then he would gain a huge advantage.

Again, all he could do was hope. Hope that it wouldn't backfire like the flashdrive thing had, and hope that all would actually go according to plan. But he had to keep himself fearful and cautious too. There was no way he was getting his hopes that high again over a plan. Fearing Bill was the safest way he could go about this, and keeping himself extremely paranoid might be what saves his life.

With that in mind, he decided that he would change the hiding spot of the knife every so often, just in case. And he would have to try his hardest not to think about it, since Bill had said that he could sometimes read minds. Even if the demon had said it to freak Dipper out, he had to keep in mind that it might be true.

After his shower, he let himself slump into bed and rub at his aching throat. Thank god Bill had won that fight. It was a lesser of two evils thing, and the pain in Dipper's throat was well worth it. Shawn would likely have started the world domination thing right away. At least Bill seems to be stalling it for some reason.

Was Dipper the reason? Was Shawn telling the truth when he said that Bill wasn't doing his usual stuff because of him?

He shook the idea from his head and closed his eyes. All of this would be thought about again in the morning. For now, Dipper needed a good night's rest for once.

 _ **AN: Yay, Bill wants to like Dipper! Too bad Dipper is still confused about it :p**_

 _ **As always, please forgive mistakes and what not, and reviews/favorites are always appreciated! Love you guys!**_


	18. Confess

**_An: Yay, long-ish chapter! Enjoy Dipper figuring out how he feels :D_**

 ** _Also, this thing only has a few chapters left. I'll be announcing the last few release dates on my Tumblr (same username as this one) So keep an eye out for those! I always tag it in the Billdip tag, so you can look there too :)_**

Once his body had fully healed, Bill sat up in his bed and quickly noticed the absence of warmth. He knew that the human liked being able to sleep in his own bed, but damn it Bill had grown to like having a warm thing in bed next to him.

It was still fairly early, so he was probably still asleep, but Bill figured he could go lay with Pine Tree anyway.

Something in the room gave Bill an uneasy feeling, but he couldn't imagine what it could be, so he shrugged it off. It was probably just Shawn's magic that disliked him, so he would just have to brush it off to the side.

Pine Tree was out cold, and it was easy for Bill to put an arm under him, and use the other to play with his fluffy brown hair.

He smelled good, and was really warm, so Bill's body couldn't help but hold onto him tightly, and enjoy the person against his bare chest.

It was strange, wanting another being to be next to you so badly, but Bill didn't mind it. His body was happy, and he was starting to like the affection as well.

The human shifted, and Bill allowed it, since he was turning to face Bill. He snuggled his face into Bill's chest, and let out a deep, content sigh. Pine Tree was still asleep, but it still made his body happy to know that he felt comfortable enough to cuddle in his sleep.

A little while later, he shifted again, that time just to squish up against him and curl up a bit more. "Bill?" Pine Tree's voice was groggy with sleep, and he seemed surprised at how close the two were. Dammit it was cute.

Bill chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Who else could it be? You ask almost every time I'm in here."

"Sorry. Just, making sure I guess." He tried to move away from Bill, but he wouldn't allow it.

"Ah-ah, I'm comfortable and I don't have to do anything today. Besides, it's still early. We can just relax here for a little while." Bill tightened his grip on the man. There was no way he was letting go just yet.

Dipper nodded in response, then was quiet for a moment. "H-how are you feeling? Are you okay?"

Aw, he was concerned. That made Bill's body feel warm and he took in a deep breath. "I'm just fine. How's your throat?"

He wiggled up just enough to meet Bill's stare, and blinked a few times, trying to get the sleepiness from his eyes. "It feels alright. I'd like to get up and get a drink though."

Oh that stupid face of his was right in front of Bill, and he couldn't help but push himself forward into a kiss. His body became hot and he pulled the human in as close as he could, letting one hand run through his hair and the other rub at his back.

Pine Tree let out small noises as they kissed and it drove Bill wild, making him open his mouth to deepen the interaction.

"I told you to let me brush my teeth first if we're going to do this in the morning," he breathed when Bill finally stopped for a moment.

"I can do hot and bothersome things whenever I want. Also, we don't have to fuck, I can just mess with you." He lifted Dipper's shirt up a bit, so that he could rub at his bare chest. "I know I can drive you crazy, and I find it amusing."

The human let out more erotic noises at his touch, and it made Bill chuckle. It was fun messing with his human, and his body loved it. Win-win for him.

"Bill," he whined. "I want to get up."

"Hm," he teased. "Fine. But you're going out with me today. Pretty sure you need to make some profiles on the internet and start posting about being alive and well, since your almost week-long absence has been noticed. I expect you to make a few profiles, none that have anything incriminating on them. You have enough pictures on your phone of us to post and make witty, dumb comments on, so do that. Make sure they know you're alive and happy."

Dipper nodded and wiggled out of Bill's arms. "Let me do that first, then we can go out and do something. It might take a little while, since I'll have to do it on my phone."

"Nonsense, use my computer. If it makes it go faster, then I don't mind it. I have showed you my tech room, haven't I?" Bill got up from the bed and stretched, noticing that Dipper was watching him do so. "Like what you see?" he mocked.

Pine Tree turned red in the face and looked away quickly. "No, you haven't showed me your tech room."

Bill laughed and shook his head. "Well, allow me to show you."

The two made their way to one of the rooms closer to the back of the mansion, and when Bill opened the door, he could hear his human gasp.

He had every type of game console, a computer of to the side of the room that could run damn near anything on it, and a TV that was almost as big as the wall, that was hooked up to all of the consoles. In front of it, sat a couch, that was in Bill's opinion, one of the most comfortable couches on the planet.

"You play video games?" Dipper moved about the room, looking at all of the electronics, mumbling something to himself.

"Of course. Before I had you, I had to find something to do in my downtime." Bill saw how impressed the human was with the devices, and it brought a smirk to his lips. He could play with his human, and make playing games with him fun. "You play?"

Pine Tree let out an awkward chuckle and nodded. "I'm kind of a giant nerd. I don't think you've seen much of that side of me."

That was not a surprise to Bill. He had a feeling that his human was a bit of a shut in, and he figured he could make the human like him even more if Bill let him indulge in those kinds of things. Maybe this was another way he could flirt with his soul. "How about, you do the social stuff first, then you and I can sit down and play a few games together? I'll even let you pick the games."

Dipper raised an eyebrow at him and looked at the computer. "I think I like you being nice a lot better." He sat down in the chair and turned the tower on.

Bill sat on the couch and watched his human. "Of course you do. Who the fuck likes me when I'm an asshole? The password is 'triangulum3' by the way, no caps no space."

"Sounds Latin."

"It is." He didn't bother explaining the meaning behind it to him, and he felt like playing a game while he waited for Pine Tree to finish.

It had been a while since he picked one of the things up, and it felt good to be getting back into them. If humans had only made a few good things, video games were one of them. They were mindless, colorful, and for the most part, held decent stories. Of course, a few were absolute shit, but Bill had learned which ones to stay away from.

After he beat a few missions on a game about aliens trying to destroy Earth, he felt the warmth of Pine Tree plop down beside him, and nudge his shoulder.

"What kind of two players do you have?"

Bill got up and looked over the wall to his right, where his video game collection sat on shelves. "Depends, you want to shoot something, solve puzzles…?"

There was a small silence, before his human finally responded. "I think I would like to shoot things. Been awhile since I've seen good, fake gore."

He picked out one of the newer games, put it into the corresponding console, then handed the second controller to Dipper. "Put real gore is so much fun. And tasty!" he laughed.

Pine Tree shivered, but kept a smile on his face. "Unfortunately."

They played the game, a few times on the same team, a few times against each other, both winning about the same amount of times.

Bill was impressed with his human's skills, and figured it was time to try and be a little more flirtatious. "C'mere." He paused the game and motioned at Dipper to sit on his lap.

A confused look spread on his face and he tilted his head.

Instead of waiting for the human to move, or to explain himself, Bill wrapped an arm around him and pulled him so that he was sitting between his legs, both still facing the TV. He put his arms under Pine Tree's, then rested his head on his shoulder.

This position was nice. It was nice that Bill was taller than he was, and it was awesome that he still hadn't put a shirt on, so Pine Tree's warmth was pressed against him. In fact this position could be improved by more nakedness.

"Shirt." He was hoping the human was still quick to pick up what he meant by his short quips, and was relieved when Dipper pulled off his T-shirt.

They both picked the controllers back up and Bill unpaused the game. Time to mess with Pine Tree.

Bill let his teeth sharpen, and would occasionally nip at Dipper's ear, which made the human wiggle and let out awesome sounds. Amused, Bill started to nip at his neck too, and would do it more often.

Pine Tree finally snapped when Bill licked him, slowly from the collarbone to his jaw, and paused the game. "This is unfair."

"Oh? How so?" Bill mused.

"I-I'm trying to focus on beating you. You licking and biting me is hardly fair tactics." The human turned enough to face Bill, and had a stupid, stupid, awful, cute look on his face. He looked legitimately frustrated with Bill, but in a playful way.

Without thinking twice about it, Bill put his hand on Dipper's face and pulled him into a very intense kiss, one that made the controllers fall to the floor, and eventually lead to Bill lying on top of his human.

Oh, that was so nice. Feeling the frustrated, yet willing body beneath him sent waves of pleasure through him, and he knew that he needed more. Stupid or not, this human was definitely turning out to be a great choice. The others had scolded him for it, sure, but he didn't care.

"Pine Tree?" he breathed as he pulled away for a moment. Now was a great time to flirt some more, and use his ability with words to win the human over even more.

The human huffed at the abrupt stop, and looked up at him. "Hm?"

"You're stupid." Great, that was definitely going to win the human over. What the fuck was that anyway? It was like his mouth spouted out the first thing that it could, and didn't even bother to listen to what his brain was trying to tell it to say.

"Gee, thanks," Pine Tree chuckled. "Why am I stupid?"

Damn it, words weren't coming to him. He stared down into the human's chocolate colored eyes, and fell completely silent. What the fuck was this bullshit, what kind of idiot can't find words just because they're looking at someone?

"Bill?" Pine Tree hesitated for a moment, then lightly put his hand on Bill's cheek. "You, okay?"

Fuck. What the fuck. This was absolute bullshit, this human doing even the smallest thing like putting his hand on his face made Bill's human brain turn to mush, and it was becoming harder and harder to find words to say.

"Sure," was all he could force out.

"Uhm, okay?" The human was becoming a little uncomfortable, and Bill knew that if he didn't say or do something, then this would backfire and make the human like him even less.

"Let's go out to brunch. We can go to anywhere you want." Bill moved off of him and ran a hand through his hair. It may be a _little_ bit of a bad thing that the human could do this to him.

"Okay, sure. Let's go get changed and stuff first." Pine Tree sat up and cleared his throat. "D-do you want me to drive? You seem a little out of it and should probably take it easy. After that fight. You were pretty beat up."

That made Bill cringe. He _hated_ that Pine Tree had seen him almost get his ass kicked like that. The fact that he was basically what saved Bill's life was even worse. "If anyone at all asks, I kicked his ass without even blinking."

Dipper snickered, but stopped when he saw Bill's serious expression.

"This isn't a pride thing kid, it's more of a, if other demons found out how badly he was able to beat me, more would challenge me. I'm freakishly powerful, but I know there are a few other demons who might put up as good as a fight as he did." It hurt his pride to say, but he had to make sure Pine Tree was on the same page as he was. No one could find out that he had almost lost his human form and power.

"Right, makes sense."

They got dressed quickly, not caring if they looked as good as they usually did, and headed out to a small cafe that Pine Tree had said he wanted to try.

It was pleasant, and it made Bill feel, warm. He couldn't think of another word to describe the way his human made him feel, other than warm. It was strange, but he liked it, both mind and soul.

The following two weeks were similar to that day, except that they started to just sleep in each other's beds, since Bill would end up moving to wherever Dipper was anyway.

Days that Bill had to go to meetings, or had to deal with any demon issues, he kept Pine Tree at home, and gave him full permission to play in the tech room. Each time he came home, he felt more and more like Dipper was starting to feel comfortable with it all, and it made his body freakishly happy.

There had to be some other way to show the human that he was legitimately interested in keeping him around, a gesture that humans knew meant business. But what?

"Let's go to the really nice mall uptown," Bill said suddenly, while they sat playing a racing game.

Dipper was leaned against him, looking a bit tired, which was so adorable and Bill hated it, but also loved it. "Sure." He sat up and yawned, looking at his cell phone. "It's already five though. What do you want to do there?"

Bill shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. This kind of gesture was supposed to be a surprise right? "Just wander around. See if there's anything new and cool."

"Alright. Lemme put some clothes on." The human had been in his boxers all day, which Bill not only loved, but actually demanded a few times.

Once Dipper was in his room, away from Bill, he got his phone out and dialed Filly's number.

"Hey Bill! What's up?"

Bill smiled at the familiar voice. "Uh, hey, can I ask you a favor?"

The line was silent for a moment. She knew Bill well enough to know that when he asked for something, rather than demanded it, something was up.

"Sure, what do ya need?"

He took a deep breath and mentally punched himself. Hopefully his past with Filly wouldn't affect her ability to be a friend to him. She had never seemed like she hated him, but after all he had done, he began to wonder if maybe she did.

"Watch the human for me at the uptown mall for like, forty five minutes? Entertain him, keep him from asking where I'm at? The damn thing will think about it too much if I leave him alone."

"Can do! Do you need me to head over there now?"

"It'll take us about twenty minutes to get there, so just meet us by the food court by then." Bill looked around to make sure Pine Tree hadn't come back. "Just try to make it seem like we didn't mean to run into each other, and chat him up a bit."

"Sure thing Bill! See you then."

It was reassuring to hear her be her usual, perky self, and Bill smiled. This was going perfectly. He had the human getting to like him, and he had a friend to call on to help him hide his surprise for Pine Tree. This was going to be good.

After a strange morning of playing video games with Bill, then going out to brunch with him, Dipper found himself even more confused about the way he felt towards Bill.

He was acting so… human, and Dipper couldn't deny anymore that Bill's human side was actually amazing. And the demon part was starting to become bearable too.

There was even a two week window where he was the perfect little stay at home boyfriend, since he could see that Bill was enjoying him being that way, and even that felt like it was something that could be awesome, if he were just fully willing to forgive Bill.

Each day, Bill would come home, want to spend time with him, and was nice. He would occasionally bring gifts, or teach him little magic tricks, and seemed like he was trying really hard to impress Dipper with his kindness. It was strange, but as the days went on, he was starting to like it.

In fact, a lot of the confusion suddenly started to clear up one day, while he and Bill were playing video games.

Both of them were in heated battle against another team online, and afterwards, Dipper found himself smiling like an idiot at Bill.

Shit. This was the moment of clarity he had been waiting for, to see if he really did have these strong feelings for Bill or not. His brain was finally coming to terms with it all, and as it looked at him, it decided, once and for all.

He leaned against Bill, and sighed contently.

Welp. That was his answer.

"Let's go to the really nice mall uptown," Bill said suddenly, making Dipper startle a little bit.

"Sure." He sat up and yawned, looking at his cell phone, making sure he didn't have a text from Mabel, who had been bothering him about hanging out again. "It's already five though. What do you want to do there?"

Bill shrugged. "Just wander around. See if there's anything new and cool."

He didn't question it, since Bill probably just wanted to get out of the house and do something fun. "Alright. Lemme put some clothes on." Dipper had been in his boxers all day, since Bill loved it when he wore nothing but them, and was actually a little glad to put some clothes on.

He picked out a nice, blue, button up shirt, dark designer jeans, and fluffed his hair the way Bill liked it. Man, he felt dumb trying to make himself seem appealing to Bill.

The demon had already admitted that he liked Dipper, so why did he feel the need to impress him even more?

With a frustrated sigh, Dipper left his room and met up with Bill in the entry way.

"You look good," he smiled.

Dipper smiled back and looked away his face feeling hot. Dammit, now he was getting flustered by Bill's compliments. "Thanks."

At the mall, Dipper could see that Bill was acting a little antsy, as if he were waiting for something.

Should he question it?

He opened his mouth to say something about it, but was interrupted by Filly waving at them.

"Bill! Dipper! I didn't expect to run into you two here!" She nearly skipped over to them, and it made Dipper wonder why she was so happy all the time.

"Filly! How's my girl?" Bill hugged her, which seemed to surprise her a little bit, but she rolled with it.

"I'm great! What are you two up to?" She moved back from the hug and seemed to be glancing over at Dipper every so often.

Bill shrugged, but then looked as if he remembered something. "We were just going to wander, but I kind of want to go run and do something real quick. You two can keep each other company while I go." Without waiting for either of them to agree, Bill turned on his heels and walked off, looking a bit determined.

Something was up, Dipper could tell, but he couldn't think too much about what Bill was doing. He had just got time alone with Filly, and could ask her some questions.

At first, the two just went and sat down at a table in the food court, both a little awkward around each other. Dipper even pulled out his cell phone to read the news when the two had sat down, just to try and seem bored with the situation, rather than nervous.

Bill sure was looking good in the eyes of the media. He was still "working with the cops" to help catch the serial killer, and most of the headlines about him were nothing but good. He must really look like an angel to them.

That made Dipper chuckle to himself, which reminded him that he should probably try and not seem like a weirdo to Filly.

"S-so, uh, how did you and Bill meet? Like, how do demons meet anyway? Is there like, a place for that?" Dipper smiled at her, and put his phone away, trying to seem like he really wanted to talk to her. Other demons made him nervous though, so it was a little difficult to keep a relaxed smile.

She blinked at him a few times, then shrugged. "Well, Bill and I go way back. I was a human when we met."

That's what Dipper thought she'd say. Now he just had to see how much she would tell him. "How'd you go demon?"

The question seemed to make her a little uncomfortable, and she bit at her lip. "First, let me ask you, how attached are you to Bill?"

Dipper shrugged. "Honestly? I don't know. Like, some part of me… loves him, but there's still a little piece that doesn't want to forgive him for all he's done." Telling her the truth wasn't as difficult as Dipper thought it would be, and he was hoping that she would return the favor and be truthful with him.

She thought for a moment then shrugged. "Alright kid, I'll talk with you. But if I find out that you turn around and tell Bill about this, then that'll be the end of ya, understand? I know how to make it so your soul don't come back." Her cute face scrunched in determination and anger for a moment, but a smile returned when Dipper nodded. "Good. Bill did to me what I assumed he's done with you. He picked me up one night at a club, showed me his world, and was mean, horrible, abusive, and amazing."

It was great that she was confirming what Dipper had been thinking, but he was a little surprised at her willingness to talk. "What happened? And why the sudden want to talk?"

She shrugged. "I've been where you are. Well, I didn't get as far as you did, but I went through the steps. After about the second time he and I had sex, he just decided that he didn't really enjoy the company of a woman. He told me he still enjoyed me as a person, so without explaining what would happen, he had me drink his blood, then he ate me. He killed me before he did it, peacefully, but let me tell you, your soul lingers for a little while, so I got to watch."

Dipper listened with wide eyes. He couldn't believe Bill had done that to her. Well, okay, he could, but wow. Was that what would have happened to him if he wasn't what Bill wanted? What if it still could happen?

She laughed at his expression and waved a hand at him. "Kid, I'm pretty sure he's happy with you. You being as quick as you are, from what he tells me anyway, has probably helped your case. He likes big brains and fire in your gut. You've got a good mix of the two."

"Do you hate him?" He asked the question quickly, and gulped after he asked it, since he wasn't sure how she would respond.

"Yes. Like you, there's a spot somewhere in me that won't forgive him. I think he knows it too. He's made it up to me by making my life as a demon pretty sweet, but getting past the whole, frequently eating people so that I don't go crazy, thing was a little hard. Now it feels like a normal thing to me though." She glanced down at her phone, then looked back up to Dipper and smiled softly at him. "I feel your pain kid. I understand if you need to talk about it."

Dipper tapped at the table and thought for a moment. He might as well ask her about the knife. "So, if I still felt like, maybe he should be stopped from trying to destroy the world, then you wouldn't mind, maybe, helping me? I mean, I do love him, I think, but I can't just sit and let him kill billions of people."

Her eyes widened and she looked around, making sure Bill wasn't coming back yet. "Kid, that's some big thinking you're doing right there. Pretty sure only another demon could kill Bill, unless you had something special that would do the job. Not many of those special things are around anymore though, so I doubt that you do."

"Would, maybe a knife that Shawn had do it? It's got like snakes of the blade, weird symbols on the hilt -is that one of the special things?"

There was a moment that she just stared at Dipper, and she still looked a little panicked. "Dipper, I won't help you do it, but if you must, then I understand. Just, really think it through. Killing Bill will have massive ramifications, and I think it might hurt you more than you'll think."

Dipper nodded. "I definitely have to think it through more before I do anything." He paused for a moment and chuckled. "You're supposed to be distracting me, aren't you?" Bill rarely did things without reason, and running into Filly and being left alone with her just didn't feel like a random thing.

"Yeah," she giggled. "I don't know what from, but I was called in to keep you from guessing what he was doing. I have no idea if it's a good thing or a bad thing." She paused again and looked at him with a very serious expression. "You have to tell me if you are planning to kill him though. The other demons are already getting antsy about Bill taking his time, and I need to do damage control if you do. I don't want the world to end either, so hopefully I'll be able to reign them in when he goes. You and I will have to-" she stopped and looked up, smiling at Bill, who was walking towards them.

"You two seem to have had a fun time, sitting and doing nothing," Bill laughed. He gave her a slight wink, that Dipper only barely noticed. "Let's all walk around and chat for a bit."

Thankfully, Bill hadn't caught on to the conversation they were having, and seemed happier than normal by time they got home.

"So, where'd you disappear to?" They were sitting in the kitchen, both messing around on their cell phones, and if Bill thought Dipper was just going to ignore him doing something shady like that, then he was wrong.

A strange smile spread on Bill's face, and he let out a breathy laugh. "You'll find out later. For now, let's get shit faced, yeah?" He got up from his chair and went to the fridge, where he got out two bottles of imported vodka. "One for me, and one for you."

Well, Dipper still wasn't too keen in being drunk around Bill, but if he played it off right, he could use this to his advantage and get Bill to tell him more. "Sure, I could use a drink."

"Let's go play videogames while we drink. We can make a game of it. Loser has to take a few gulps straight from the bottle." Bill wiggled his eyebrows at him, then turned to go into the tech room.

Dipper followed, amused by Bill's game. There was no way Dipper was going to lose, since he usually beat Bill anyway.

They picked out a simple racing game, one that they hadn't played yet, and leaned against each other while they played.

It was only two rounds in that Dipper realized that Bill had played him. Bill was _really_ good at this game, and made sure Dipper kept to drinking every time that he lost.

"Come on, you have to drink a little too. It's not fair if I'm the only one that's wasted." Dipper nudged Bill's bottle at him, and the demon took it with an eye roll.

"Fine. I will drink until I am drunk, since you want a wasted demon so badly." The way Bill chugged the alcohol after that almost made Dipper sick by just watching it. It was like he didn't even care about the burn that the vodka gave.

When Bill finally put the bottle down, it was half gone, and Dipper let out a low whistle. "Holy shit, you took that like a champ," he chuckled.

Bill laughed back and nodded. "Well, I needed to get wasted some how. Let's play some more, and get you on my soon-to-be level."

"Alright fine, but I'm not carrying you to the room again."

"We'll see who carries who."

A few more rounds of the game went by, Dipper losing all of them, and eventually the two just sat in a drunken state, occasionally saying something to the other.

"D-do you miss what you remember from when you were human?" Dipper was lying on Bill, -he had no idea how they got in the position, but he was just going with it- and was idly playing with the demon's hair.

He shrugged. "I mean, I guess I do? I don't know, it's weird not having Will around, but at the same, uh, same time, it's been so long anyway, that it's not so bad."

"Was Will your twin? I can't, i-imagine being away from, M-Mabel. We've moved around everywhere together. She, made the… the store, here just 'cause that's where I ended up."

Bill moved so that he had his arms wrapped around Dipper, and turned so that he had Dipper pressed up against the back of the couch. "Mm, yeah. I think I remember being really sad about it at first, but, I uh, got over it, pretty quickly, once I started killing other demons and sucking up their magic. Like a sponge!" he laughed.

Dipper laughed too, and patted Bill's chest. "You're weird when you're drunk."

"And you're still you." Bill tightened his grip on Dipper and let out a sigh. "And you, still hate me, don't you?"

The tone of voice he used made Dipper instant feel guilty for some reason. It was really weird to hear Bill sound so… heartbroken.

"I understand if you do. I wouldn't love me back either."

Dipper really hadn't wanted to admit his feelings to Bill, not before he decided on what he was going to do with the knife, but while drunk, and while hearing the sadness practically dripping from Bill's voice, he couldn't help but comfort the demon.

"I still have things I can't forgive you for… and I have been trying to figure out a lot in the last, last few days, but Bill?"

"Yeah?"

"I do love you back."

 _ **AN: Smut!~ ( X )**_

 _ **Yay, things are going good for once! Too bad sadness is right around the corner. I'm not even sorry.**_


	19. Commitment

_**AN: Holy cow this took me forever to write! Sorry '^~^**_

 _ **Anyway, here's this bad boy! I know I said it would be out on Saturday, but I finished the smut faster than I thought I would XD I hope you guys enjoy it! It's more of explaining Dipper and Bill's relationship, and is honestly a segway into the sadness that's going to come down in the next chapter.**_

 _ **So enjoy the fluff before the angst!**_

* * *

The once warm spot next to Dipper was gone when he woke up, and he wondered where Bill could have run off to so early with the hangover he must have had.

Dipper knew that his head was feeling it, and he didn't drink nearly as much as Bill had, so what ever pulled him out of bed must have been important.

He was hoping that it wasn't something bad, and wondered for a moment if he should worry about his… boyfriend? Did he want to start calling him that now? He _had_ just admitted to Bill that he loved him, so boyfriend wasn't too far fetched.

Well, love was still a strong word for it. It was more like, Dipper really, really liked the good parts of Bill. If he could just have the human half, Dipper would be happy. He would admit that he was in love, if he had just the human part.

But, he couldn't have just the good. He had to deal with the demon half too. The half that had beat him, made him bleed, took his pride, killed and ate people, and turned him into the thing that he was now.

He was repressing most of it anyway, not allowing himself to feel the bad emotions for more than a minute or so, but it was all still there, eating him away in the back of his mind.

Since he was in his bed, and the thought of the knife and killing Bill crossed his mind again. Filly was right when she had said that it would hurt Dipper. It would, he wasn't going to deny that. He honestly wasn't sure if he could stab Bill while looking at his face. His eyes would have to be shut, and he would have to try his hardest not to think about the fact that he was stabbing his boyfriend to death.

For a second, he chuckled. It had been about two whole months, maybe more, maybe less, he couldn't tell anymore, and he had gotten himself in possibly one of the shittiest situations on Earth.

Maybe, just maybe, there was an alternative solution. Could he possibly get Bill to change his mind about destroying everything? Dipper had noticed how hard Bill seemed to have fallen for him, maybe that gave him enough power over him to convince him not to.

Then again, he might not get the best reaction from asking such a thing. It would likely cause turmoil between the two, and he did not want that. He was on what was possibly the best side of Bill, and he did not want to lose that.

With a heavy sigh, he pulled himself out of the bed to get dressed so that he could go get a drink in the kitchen.

The place seemed warmer than usual, and it made Dipper wonder if it was because he had started to consider this place home. As weird as that was, it was the place he had stayed the longest in the past few years, so he was becoming weirdly attached to the mansion.

It was going to be stupidly hard to stop Bill from destroying the world. Physically of course, but the more he thought about it, as fucked up as it all was, it was likely going to really hurt him emotionally.

Taking a sip of water, Dipper noticed a piece of paper on the table next to a plate of pastries.

" _Eat something to help with your headache._ "

"Duh," Dipper chuckled to himself.

Was that Bill's attempt at something sweet? So far anything that seemed like it was meant to be flirting had turned out to just sound either mean, or half-assed.

After eating a few of the super delicious cherry filled things, Dipper figured he'd wait for Bill while playing video games.

He felt a little like a spoiled brat sometimes, since he was a full grown man that got to sit at home and play video games all day while his boyfriend worked, but he pushed that thought out of his head, since it wasn't like he could do much else anyway.

Bill had set kind of an absolute rule that he shouldn't leave the house while he was super busy, since he had heard a few rumors about a couple of demons having it out for them, and didn't want to be too tied up to put them back in their place.

It strangely kind of scared Dipper to think that other demons were strong enough to fight Bill, and almost win. When Bill had said to act like he had killed Shawn without even thinking twice about it, it had sent chills through him.

What if other demons did challenge him? Sure, Bill would probably kill most of them, but what if one did kill him? Did demons just go off of whoever was the strongest was the one who called the shots? If Dipper killed him, would it bring a mass panic to the demons, and make them start fighting to see who would take charge next?

Filly hadn't seemed too worried about Dipper saying that he might kill Bill. She said she would need to do damage control, but she didn't say that it would cause chaos or anything.

He barely acknowledged it when the door to the room opened, and just waited for Bill to plop down next to him.

"Got a hangover?" Bill asked as he sat down and leaned against Dipper. He had a slight cold stuck to him from outside, and it made Dipper shiver a bit.

He shrugged. "Little bit. Food and water helped. Thanks."

"No problem. Pine Tree. Dipper." Bill cleared his throat and fidgeted with the zipper on his jacket.

That was weird. "Where've you been all morning?" Dipper kept playing his game, only slightly glancing over at Bill while he waited for an answer.

"You like surprises Dipper?"

Dipper paused his game and narrowed his eyes at Bill. He was using his name a lot. Not that he minded it, but it was strange for him to be calling him something other than Pine Tree.

"Depends on the surprise," he said slowly.

"Here." Bill held out his hand in a fist and wiggled it around a little.

"What is it?" Dipper didn't move to take whatever it was, and kept his eyes on Bill's.

Bill sighed and let his hand fall into his lap. "Just. Just open your hand Pine Tree."

Dipper looked over Bill's face before moving his hand. He looked frustrated. Like he wanted to say or do something but couldn't quite get his body to do it.

After a deep breath Dipper held out his hand and looked away for a moment. Gifts from Bill were never so small that they could fit in his fist, and it worried Dipper that Bill had been so sneaky with this one.

A small object landed in his palm with a thud, and Dipper hesitantly looked over at it.

Why had Bill gotten him a ring?

"Uh, p-pretty sure this kind goes on your left hand. I don't know modern human traditions for this, but you probably do, so just put it on whichever finger it's supposed to go on."

" _What._ " _What._ What? What. Dipper blinked at the silver band. It was a men's ring with a thick band, and it had a three, light blue gems at the top, the one in the middle slightly larger than the two one its sides. "Bill what."

Bill crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "This is commitment for you guys, right? Like, showing that you give a shit about the other's existence? I fucked it up, didn't I?"

Dipper's brain couldn't even process what had just happened. "What."

"Did I fuck it up _that_ badly?" Bill chuckled. He nudged Dipper's arm and nodded at the ring. "So… are you going to put it on?"

"I-I, uhm." Shit. Holy shit. Why the hell did Bill need to take the next step? They weren't even remotely ready for the next step, Dipper had just gotten over calling him his boyfriend that morning. Hell, he was still wondering if he should stab him or not just a few hours ago.

Should he just put it on and roll with it? What would Bill do if he didn't?

"Is this too much?" Bill sounded a little concerned, since Dipper was sure that his face was deep red and he probably wasn't breathing very often.

Maybe he was in shock? He couldn't tell. All he knew was that the ring in his hand felt like it weighed a ton, and the world around him was starting to spin.

"Pine Tree?"

Dipper felt his body go limp, and everything went black.

A few hours later, he woke up in Bill's bed, with Bill sitting near his feet, playing with the ring.

"Wha' happened?" Dipper tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in his head stopped him.

"You tell me." Bill's tone was dark, and sounded a little hoarse.

Had Dipper really passed out because Bill had proposed to him? Oh, god, Bill had proposed to him.

His head started to hurt again and he groaned. "I don't know Bill. I just- it's not like I don't- I-I, uhm."

Bill hushed him. "Don't hurt yourself again." He laughed, but it was dry and quiet.

Did Dipper reacting this way actually hurt Bill's feelings? Well, his human half was probably heartbroken, or was at least thinking that Dipper didn't mean his confession from the night before. His demon half was probably more annoyed than anything.

"I don't know how I feel about it. Like, I honestly have no idea how to process all of the thoughts and feelings going through my head right now." Dipper forced himself to sit up, wincing at the headache. Drinking that much hadn't been his brightest idea.

Bill nodded and looked down at his hands. "I didn't think such a basic human tradition would cause such a fuss. If it's not something that you want, then fine. We don't have to."

 _Fuck_. By the way he sounded, Bill's human half was super upset about this. Dipper couldn't let everything he worked for to get on Bill's good side go down the drain over this.

Besides, the more he thought about it, the more he figured, why not? He was in like, like with him, and it wouldn't be so bad to be so close to him. Not like getting engaged meant the end of the world. In fact, it would probably save the world. With Dipper being so close to him, maybe he could convince Bill not to do it.

"I want to," Dipper said suddenly. "Bill, yes."

His boyfriend -fiance?- perked up and Dipper could see him trying to hide a smile. "You're not just saying this because you're afraid of me, right?"

Dipper chuckled. "That might be part of it, but no. I wasn't lying when I said that last night. Again, there are some things that I don't think I'll ever be able to let go, but it wasn't just the alcohol talking."

Bill let a smirk spread on his lips and he put his hand back out with the ring in it.

Without hesitating, Dipper reached out and took it, then slipped it on his ring finger. It fit perfectly.

There wasn't any going back now, even if he wanted to. Which, he didn't think he did.

Bill had changed into a black tank-top and sweats, the type of outfit Dipper never thought he would see him in, and was eager to crawl into bed with Dipper.

"That outfit is weird. Not that it looks bad on you, it doesn't, but you just didn't seem like the type." Well, if he was going to be bound to the guy, he might as well be honest with him.

"It's my stress outfit. When this body is under extreme stress, I wear stuff that's extremely comfortable." Bill pulled Dipper down into a tight hug, one that was almost too tight, and he sighed. "Before you ask why I'm stressed, no it wasn't just you passing out that caused it. I've got quite the following of demons that will do whatever I say, without question, but, there's been talk that a few of the tougher ones are trying to undermine me."

Dipper shifted a little so that he was more comfortable. "You think it'll be as bad as fighting Shawn?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I only hear rumors. So far they've been able to hide it all pretty well. If your life hadn't been in danger, I might've kept him around to torture information out of him, but I didn't want your mortal body dying just yet."

Filly's story about how she had to watch her own death flashed in Dipper's mind. "When are you going to kill me?"

Bill huffed. "We'll talk about all of that later. Can we just relax for now?"

"Okay." Dipper didn't want to pry anymore. Maybe it hurt Bill to think of killing him too. With how attached his body was, was Bill going to be able to kill Dipper? His human half might freak out about it, but his demon half knew exactly what would happen to him, and that he could go get his soul back when he wanted to, but it might still be tough for him to do it.

He didn't let himself think too much about it though. For right then, he just wanted to relax too, and try to pretend that he was lying in bed with his normal, human, not half horrible demon, fiance.

Later that day, the two decided to stop lazing around, and Dipper explained that if he didn't tell Mabel about his engagement right away, she would be the one to kill him.

"Fine, fine. I'd really prefer you not be out alone right now, but it should be fine. Just, stay indoors, or in a public place, okay?" Bill brushed Dipper's hair back and kissed his birthmark, something he had never done before, but Dipper found that he actually kind of liked it.

"Okay. You don't want to just come with?"

"Can't. Planning the big celebration! I need to get the invitations out to everyone so that this weekend will be a hit." Bill unwrapped his arms from around Dipper, and ran both hands through his hair. "Besides, it would probably be best that you tell Ford alone."

Dipper sat up and rubbed at his head. It hurt a lot less, but still ached with movements that were too quick. "Yeah, you're right. Celebration?"

Bill nodded with his hands covering his face. "The cops caught that serial killer, with my help of course, so I wanted to do a fake ass celebration acting like I was happy about it. But, now I get to make it a real celebration, and announce our engagement at it. The media is going to go ballistic over us. That's only a part of the reason I did it though."

"Okay. I should really make sure my family knows before then though. Like I said, they might shoot me down if they found out at the same time everyone else does." He smiled at Bill, then fixed his clothes and got ready to go out.

Just before he left, Bill pulled him into a kiss at in the entryway, one of his legs in between Dippers, and his hands either in his hair or on his hips, and didn't let him out of it for a solid two minutes.

"Text if you need something, call only if yours, or your family's lives are in danger," he said softly as he moved away.

"Okay."

With another kiss to his birthmark, Bill finally let Dipper leave.

The amount of attention and concern Bill had been showing made Dipper nervous. No one was actually going to attack him while he was out, right?

What if they attacked while his family was around, and he was forced to change into his demon form in front of them? Not like it would help much, but he would do it even if it helped a little.

Mabel's shop was on his way to the office, so he figured he should stop there first. She would be upset if she wasn't the first to know anyway.

"Oh, hey Dipper! Mabel's in back, I'll go get her!" The short brunette with a pixie cut from the front counter bounced back to Mabel's office, and only had the door cracked for a second before Mabel came bounding through it.

She wrapped Dipper into a tight hug and it nearly made them both fall over. "I've missed you bro-bro! I'm so glad you came to say hi!"

Dipper hugged her back just as tightly, then cleared his throat. "I have something to tell you Mabel."

Mabel stepped back in a quick movement and narrowed her eyes at him. "You don't show your face for weeks, and now that you're here you have something to show me?" Her tone was anything but mad, but Dipper knew that she had every right to be suspicious.

He smiled and thought of what might be the best way to tell her. There was no way he could start explaining to her _why_ he was engaged, so instead, he lifted his hand up, and just showed her the ring.

She let out a loud gasp, then a high pitched squeal. "Oh my god Dipper! Oh my god! You're getting married!" Both of her hands went up to her face, and she held them there for a moment while she thought. "Aw man, I thought for sure I'd be getting married first!" She gasped again. "Is this why he had us all meet? Did you meet his family?"

Dipper chuckled at his sister's enthusiasm. At least someone felt nothing but happy emotions about the situation. "Y-yeah. He did it kind of out of nowhere, to be honest."

There was a short pause, then Mabel tilted her head at him. "You don't seem very happy about it."

"No, no, I am, it's just, a lot, you know?" A small smile found his lips, and he tried his best to make it look genuine. He didn't need her worrying over him more than she probably already did.

"Understandable! Oh! Can I _please, please_ make your tux for it? Or dress, I mean, whichever you're going to wear, I wanna make it! Ask Bill if I can make his too!" She was giddy again, and it made Dipper feel good about it.

Sure, it was a messed up situation, but when he was around people who didn't know about it, it all somehow seemed normal, and awesome even.

"I will definitely be wearing a tux, and of course you can. I highly doubt Bill will mind if you make his, but I'll ask just to be sure."

"When is the date? Do I need to take your measurements now, or can we set a date?"

Dipper ran his hand through his hair and shrugged. "We just got engaged, we haven't done like any planning," he laughed. "But I'll let you know as soon as I know. Don't go around announcing it though, pretty sure Bill wants like the media and stuff to find out this weekend at our party thing."

"Okay, can do bro-bro." Her smile grew wider, and she wrapped her arms around him again. "Oh, I'm so excited for you!"

"Thanks, Mabel. I should probably get going to see Ford now. He… might not take it very well." Dipper moved back from her and made sure to keep a smile on his face. Mabel knew the two would fight every so often, so he wanted to play it off as a light hearted thing so that she wouldn't insist on coming with to break them up.

She made a "psht" sound and patted his chest. "Ford will be happy for you. I know he doesn't like Bill since he thinks he's killing people, but he'll come around once you tell him how happy you are."

Taking a deep breath, he forced a final smile before agreeing and saying his goodbyes.

Ford was not going to take this well. He thought up a fake conversation in his head as he drove, hoping to come up with answers to the questions Ford might ask. Knowing Ford he would likely ask a ton of other questions, ones that Dipper wouldn't have an answer for, but at least he prepped himself a little bit for it.

Once at the door to the office, Dipper braced himself for Ford to be on the other side. He probably wasn't, but Dipper felt the need to do it anyway.

"Oh, hey Dipper! Haven't seen you in a little while, where ya been?" Wendy grabbed his hand and pulled him into a hug, patting him on the back a few times before stepping away from him.

"Just hanging out… I actually have something to tell you guys. Ford's here right?"

Wendy nodded towards his office. "He's been cooped up in there since you went under. Hasn't come out for much. I think he's taking those videos apart over and over."

Dipper looked around at the few others sitting at their desks, and though they were minding their own business, he knew he had to make their conversation more private.

"Let's go see him." Without waiting to see if she followed, Dipper willed his legs to carry him into Ford's office, where it looked like Ford was in fact messing with the videos.

"Dipper!" He sat up straight and a smile found his face.

Wendy was right behind him and closed the door after herself. "Dip says he's got something to tell us."

Ford nodded and his face became more serious. "Is it about Bill?"

Dipper cleared his throat and looked away from the both of them. "Kind of."

"Well, what is it dude?" Wendy leaned against Ford's desk, and both sets of eyes fell onto Dipper.

His face grew hot and he had to force himself to take a few deep breaths. "Uhm, well, Bill this morning, had a surprise for me. And, uh, it was kind of a big one."

Ford moved his hands in a rotating motion and nodded at him. "Get on with it Dipper," he chuckled.

"Bill proposed to me," he finally managed to spit out.

Both of their eyes grew wide and neither of them said anything for a moment.

"And you said no, of course. Right?" Ford crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Dipper.

"Well… no. I-I said yes." Dipper flinched as he said yes, and braced himself for Ford's reaction.

"Why?" Wendy put her hand up to Ford to stop an outburst. "Do you think getting that involved with him will actually help?"

Dipper shrugged. "It's… all of this is super complicated and I wouldn't even know where to start explaining it, but just know that I'm doing what I think is right."

"I'm not okay with this." Ford used a soft, calm voice, but Dipper could see in his eyes that he was furious. "Dipper, I am really not okay with this. Did he force you into this? Is he threatening you?" His volume raised as he went on, and Dipper felt like he wanted to just blip out of existence.

He probably could like teleport or something using magic, but like hell he was going to show that side of himself to Ford. Especially since he was already angry at him. Who knew what he would do if he found out Dipper had been turned into one of the things Ford had been learning to hate.

"No," he said quietly. "I did this on my own accord. I-I just, have some things to sort out, okay? I need to stick with him longer. I'm trying to convince him not to do all the horrible things he has planned."

"So you think becoming his little housewife will be the solution to this? Why not go with the healthier option, and help us put him away?"

"You think a regular prison would hold him?" Dipper's voice was raised now, and it cracked a little when he spoke. "You have no idea what kind of shit he can do, if I were to just turn on him our family would be the first to go, then the rest of the fucking world would follow!"

Ford stood up and clenched his fists. "Dipper I can't let you just hurt yourself like this, there has to be some other way! Can't we just find a way to kill him? You shouldn't have to go through this kind of shit just because you feel like you can save everybody!"

"I don't want to kill him!" Dipper was caught off guard by his own outburst. Well, at least that answered that question. Dipper definitely didn't _want_ to kill Bill, but knew that if he absolutely had to, he could. It would fucking hurt, but he could do it.

"Seriously? You think you have feelings for that thing or something? You know what Stockholm Syndrome is Dipper?"

"It's not that!" Dipper felt a familiar pressure grow in his chest and it made him panic. He was getting way too worked up.

"Yes, it is Dipper! You think a normal person like you could develope feelings for a fucking _demon_? _He eats people_ Dipper!" Ford was getting red in the face too, and looked like he was pained by Dipper's words.

 _He wouldn't talk so big if you tore him open!_

"No," Dipper shook his head. "No, no, no." He couldn't be thinking those kinds of things. Not about his family. He put his hand on his face and took several deep breaths.

"Ford, calm down, Dipper knows what he's doing," Wendy said calmly. "Fighting won't solve shit."

 _How much blood do you think it would take to completely soak this place? You'll probably need to kill them both to do it._

"No!" Dipper shouted at himself. "I have to go."

He didn't care that Ford yelled after him, he didn't care that he nearly fell down the stairs. He just knew that he had to leave right then. The voice hadn't come back since he ate that guy, and now it was there, in spades.

 _Aw, go back! If you kill them you won't have to listen to anymore bitching!_

"Stop, oh my god." Dipper forced himself to stay calm long enough to drive home, and had to keep forcing deep, steady breaths to keep himself from stopping the car and freaking out.

He figured he'd wait it out in his room, and just ask Bill to help him later.

"Dipper?" Bill nearly ran into him in the hallway and held his shoulders. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I almost lost it. Ford yelled at me, I got worked up." He spoke quickly and was close to hyperventilating.

Bill chuckled. "I see. Well, let's get you taken care of. Then we can talk more about what Ford said."

"I thought that you were out planning for the party this weekend?" Dipper followed Bill into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"I have a phone and a computer, why would I need to go out? Part of the reason I didn't come with you is because being on the phone the entire time around your family would be rude." Bill started to get some things out of the fridge and freezer, and started to prepare dinner.

"Yeah, that's true. I guess it's good you didn't come. Ford might have shot you in the head right then and there." Dipper tried to laugh, but his body was still jittery and he couldn't even force himself to.

Bill on the other hand, laughed. "Oh, that would've been golden. Naturally I would have laughed at his act and spit the bullet back out at him." He threw a few things into a pan in the stove, then turned and faced Dipper. "What exactly did he yell at you for? Just because you said yes?"

"He thinks I have Stockholm Syndrome," Dipper nearly whispered.

"Oh."

Had Bill just thought about that? What if he thought that Dipper's affections weren't real now?

"Hm." Bill looked down and tapped his fingers on the counter. "Do you think you do?"

Dipper shrugged. "I don't think so. I'm not with you just because I'm scared of you. Like, I feel like I could get out if I actually wanted to. But, I don't want to."

"Good to hear you're still afraid of me," Bill chuckled. "Also good to know that you don't want to leave. My human parts would be devastated."

"And how would your demon side feel?" Dipper had been wondering exactly what Bill's demon side thought of him. Sure he had said that he was nice to have around for the lust and banter, but he kind of wanted some reassurance that Bill, the real actual Bill wanted him too.

He turned and continued cooking, not answering the question for a short while.

"I'd miss you too," he finally said.

Was that enough of an answer for Dipper? He didn't want to turn this into a fight, so he left it alone for the time being, but something felt like he wanted a better answer than that.

A little while later, Bill set a plate down in front of him filled with rice and what looked like chicken.

"This is going to make the pain in my chest go away, isn't it?" Dipper poke at it with his fork and sighed.

"Yup. Just enjoy it. I promise I tried to hide the flavor the best that I could without taking it away completely." Bill took a bite of his and smiled at Dipper.

Well, he had already eaten it before. And he had flat out eaten it raw, so this wouldn't be so bad.

As usual, Bill's cooking was delicious, and Dipper tried to ignore the fact that he was eating someone.

"Where'd you learn to cook so well?" He asked the question partially just to break the silence. It had started to get a little awkward.

Bill shrugged. "I know a lot of stupid shit Pine Tree. I'm glad you like it though."

After that, they continued the somewhat awkward silence, and finished eating.

"You're welcome to go to bed. I'll likely join you after you've fallen asleep, and I'd hate to keep you up." Bill was texting somebody, and not paying attention to Dipper's answer.

"Alright, good night then. I'll be in my room."

Hours later, Dipper was woken up by Bill crawling into bed with him. He fell back asleep almost instantly, but not before he let Bill cuddle up against him.

The next few nights were similar to that one. Bill would come to bed super late, but would still wake up early, looking more and more disheveled each morning.

Ford tried calling Dipper a few times throughout those few days, but he elected to ignore them, since he really didn't feel like getting yelled at.

He tried his best to comfort Bill, but all he ever wanted to do was just cuddle and not talk about anything.

Multiple times he tried to bring up exactly what was making Bill so stressed, but each one was met with an angry, "I don't want to talk about it".

The night of the party was no different, but Bill seemed a little bit happier as they got dressed for it.

"Feeling okay today?" Dipper sprayed himself with the cologne Bill had gotten him, and fluffed his hair around a bit. He was going to need a haircut soon.

"Your constant concern is nice, but it's becoming a little trying Pine Tree. I am fine. Stressed, but I'll be okay." Bill was wearing a white, button up shirt, with a black vest over it. He rolled up the sleeves, and wore a bowtie rather than a tie. With the dark jeans and black tennis shoes he was wearing, he looked a little odd.

Dipper had decided on a similar outfit, but with a gray button up, no vest or bowtie, jeans and black tennis shoes. "If you say so."

The party was being held at a large, very fancy venue, that was mostly white and made of marble, but had golden fixtures and chandeliers that hung above the ballroom-like area.

There were round tables all around, spaced out neatly so that people could sit and move around without any trouble, and they all had golden tablecloths on them with blue flowers in the middle for decoration.

"This is nice. You set this all up?" Dipper smiled at Bill, hoping to lighten up the mood a bit, but Bill didn't seem to notice it.

"Yup." Bill made his way to the back of the room, where a long square table was set, and stood next to it.

So far they were the only ones there besides the people putting the finishing touches on things, and Bill looked super disconnected from it all.

"I see your face Pine Tree. I know you're going to ask me again if I'm okay. I'm trying to put my good face on. It takes me a little while and people are going to be here soon."

Dipper acknowledged that with a nod and waited next to Bill.

It wasn't too longer after that when people started to show up, and Bill stood while he greeted most of them. Every time he shook hands with someone he had a large smile on his face, and seemed as if he had been suddenly rejuvenated.

With the party under way, Dipper ended up getting pulled away from Bill by people introducing themselves to him, and ask about their relationship.

He didn't know if Bill wanted their engagement announced yet, so Dipper played it off and just chatted with them harmlessly about his day and how things were.

A familiar face came up to him at one point, her long blonde hair done up in a bun with a few loose strands, and colorful jewels placed throughout it. Her dress was black, and had the back open. The neckline of the dress went down far enough that anyone who glanced at her could almost see her entire chest.

"Pacifica," Dipper said pleasantly. He had only ever met her twice before, so he didn't really know if she was a bitch like Bill had said she was.

"Pines." She glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot, then smirked at him. "We asked you to investigate Cipher, not fuck him," she giggled.

Dipper's face turned pink and he laughed awkwardly. "Ah, well, you know, shit happens."

"Apparently. Have you found out anything about where Cipher got started? Or how he keeps upping his fortune like he does? I know my family certainly hasn't done any deals with him." She crossed her arms, and Dipper noticed she was wearing black opera gloves that matched her dress.

It made him wonder if he and Bill were dressed too casually for the event, or if she was a bit over dressed for it.

"Nope. He doesn't talk to me about stuff like that. I haven't felt the need to ask either. So far Bill is just… Bill." Dipper smiled and figured he should try to sooth her over. No point in having her becoming even more suspicious of Bill. "You look lovely this evening, by the way."

She rolled her eyes, but Dipper could see a small smile tug at her lips. "Thanks Pines. You look pretty spiffy yourself. Don't think flattery will get you anywhere though."

"I don't need to get anywhere, I'm with Bill." He glanced over to check on his demon, and saw that he was in a conversation with some other rich person.

"Puh-lease, I saw you staring at my boobs when I walked over. You may be with Bill, but I'm willing to bet you aren't entirely gay." She put her index finger on his chest and a sly smirk spread on her face. "If I cared to try, I could steal you from him. Sounds like a waste of time though. I'd probably be bored with you within a week."

Dipper rolled his eyes and lightly pushed her hand away from him. "I doubt that you could. I'm pretty committed."

"Whatever Pines," she giggled. "Anyway, I'd better go mingle some more. See you around?"

He nodded and gave a short wave to her before he went to join Bill again.

They talked for a little while longer, before it was announced that the dinner was about to be served, so they asked everyone to take their respective seats.

Once they were all seated, the room became hushed, and Dipper began to feel a little weird, since he was sitting with Bill up at the square table. He looked out at all of the faces in the room and suddenly started to feel like he didn't belong there.

He really wasn't anything special, so why was he in a room full of a bunch of important people?

For the first time in a while, Dipper felt like he might start having a panic attack. He repressed it as hard as he could, and sat quietly, waiting for Bill to do his speech.

When the room fell silent and all eyes were on he and Bill, Dipper looked down and took a couple of deep breaths. He could not wait for this to be over.

Bill felt like shit. He was tired, his body ached for whatever reason, and he could feel Pine Tree's anxiousness.

But, he had to keep his human face on, and play the nice guy to the other rich assholes and the cops.

He had the room's attention and could feel that all eyes were then on him. "Good afternoon, ladies and gents! Tonight we're celebrating the capture of the murderer who plagued our city. I'd like to thank all of the fine police men and women, for their fine work in bringing him in." He paused and let the crowd applaud, keeping an almost painful smile on his face.

"With the streets a little cleaner, I like to think our city is now one of the greatest for sure. A wonderful place to live and love each other." He paused again and glanced over at Dipper. "Which, is why I'd like to announce that not only have we caught the murderer, but my boyfriend and I have decided to take the next step in our relationship, and are now engaged."

Murmurs and gasps went through the crowd, and were followed by another applause.

"Thank you," he continued when they stopped. "Anyway, I want to thank all of the fine men and women in uniform for keeping our city great, and thank you all for coming to celebrate with us."

Again they applauded and after that, Bill took his seat.

They all began to talk again while they ate, and Bill wondered if maybe he should try to talk to Dipper. He seemed like he was pretty anxious.

"You doing alright?" He grabbed Dipper's hand under the table and gave it a light squeeze.

His human emotions were flooding out of him, and it was starting to make him wonder about how Pine Tree saw him. He had admitted that he was still scared of him, which Bill was perfectly okay with, but was he starting to realize how stupidly head over heels Bill's body had fallen?

Did he realize that his demon half was starting to want him more and more as well?

"Coming down from it, I promise."

The last time the kid had seemed this freaked out was when Bill was still throwing really mean, idle threats at him. It probably was bringing a lot of those awful memories back and Bill was worried that it would make him feel worse.

"It's okay, take your time. We don't have to be here much longer, okay?" Bill rubbed his hand with his and used it to keep calm himself.

The amount of work, planning, and threats he had to deal with in the past week were all taking a toll on his body, and it was really hard to sit through this human bullshit for as long as he had to.

Hopefully he and Pine Tree could have a nice relaxing night after this, and not think about anything for a while. Maybe they could go on a vacation. A pre-honeymoon or something like that. He wondered for a moment about where Pine Tree might want to go.

The more he thought about spending time with him, the more Bill was glad that he had asked Pine Tree to marry him. It felt like a good way to say that he wanted to keep him around. Though, the reaction he got from it wasn't exactly comforting, it was still nice to hear him say that he wanted to be with Bill.

Soon the others were mingling again, saying their goodbyes and closing up conversations, and Bill was relieved.

Only a little while longer and he could go home and get some stress out of his system with Dipper.

Once again, as if something knew Bill wanted to be near Dipper, they got seperated by conversations, and it made him want to end the night even more.

Luckily though, he was left alone for a little while, and ended up standing next to his new right hand man, 8-Ball. Or, his more human name that they had to give him, Ivan.

Dipper was showing the ring to a few people, and seemed much more relaxed, so Bill thought he should chat with 8-Ball while he waited for his Pine Tree.

"8-Ball."

"Yes sir?"

He certainly wasn't one for very intelligent conversations, but Bill didn't mind another demon to talk with. One that he could trust too.

"How do you feel about the whole, me taking too long to kill the humans?" Bill crossed his arms and leaned against the wall while he looked at Dipper.

"I don't mind it. We got a pretty sweet setup now. Don't know why the others want to rush it so bad." He seemed to be trying to keep his deep voice hushed, and was careful to keep his pitch low so that no one could hear what they were talking about.

Bill nodded. "Do you think they would get mad if we kept everything as it is?"

"Wudduya mean boss? Like, not kill the humans and keep it this way?" 8-Ball mimicked Bill and leaned against the wall while crossing his large arms.

With a deep sigh, Bill looked down at the floor. "If I keep to my plans, I might lose my Pine Tree. He values human life still and I think he wants to kill me to stop me."

8-Ball nodded. "I wouldn't question you. I know most of us like it this way actually. We get to live human lives, but still be us. There are those guys that are still mad at you though."

"I know," Bill said softly. "And they've been throwing threats at me left and right. I don't know if I could take them if they all came at me at once. In fact, I know I couldn't," he laughed in an almost hysterical way.

Dipper broke away from his conversation, and Bill took that as his time to leave.

"Keep this purely between us, yeah?" Bill moved away from the wall and looked at 8-Ball as he walked away, waiting for the other demon to nod.

"O' course."

Bill smiled at him, then turned and walked to meet Dipper. He almost felt like he wanted to just run, and be done with the night as quickly as possible.

"You ready to go?" Bill brushed Dipper's bangs away from his face and kissed his birthmark.

He had no idea why he liked doing it, but he did. Pine Tree didn't seem to mind, so he figured he'd just keep doing it.

"So ready, oh my god. I wanna go home."

That last word sent chills down Bill's spine. Did Dipper consider Bill's house home now? He said the word with such sureness, and it made Bill beem.

"I agree." Bill grabbed his hand and they hastily made their way out of the building, hoping not to get caught by anyone else that might want to speak with them.

It started to rain on the way home, and Dipper seemed enthralled by it.

"You like rainy weather?" Bill glanced over at him. It was stupid how cute it was when Pine Tree was smiling at the water droplets on his window.

"Mhm. Overcast is the best. It's relaxing."

Bill looked up at the gray clouds and a smile pulled at his lips. They were oddly relaxing. It gave the whole world a kind of cozy feel, as if he could curl up anywhere with a good book, or just with Dipper, and watch the rain fall from the sky.

It wouldn't rain like this ever again if Bill went through with his plans.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah, it is."

The rest of the drive was silent, both listening to the sound of the rain pelting the car's roof. It was a soft rain, so the sound and sight of it wasn't too overbearing, and helped Bill to relax even more.

Bill noticed that Dipper walked slowly on their way into the house, and saw that he was taking in deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" He looked at him strangely and kept pace with him.

Dipper chuckled and stopped walking altogether. "Have you never stopped to just smell the rain? Or to enjoy getting a little wet from it?"

He stopped next to him and took in a deep breath through his nose. It smelled like dirt, but not in a bad way. Almost as if he were standing in a cave with a freshwater spring. If he closed his eyes, he could almost picture the landscape as if it were actually surrounding him.

"What was that?" he asked softly when they continued to walk.

"What was what?" Dipper opened the door for him and followed behind him into the house.

"Just then, outside. Was that some sort of relaxing thing you do? The whole, smelling rain thing?"

Pine Tree chuckled and ran a hand through his slightly damp hair. "Sure, I guess. It definitely made me feel a little better. Did it help you?"

Bill shrugged. "A little, I guess. I think some vodka might help more. Maybe whiskey? I don't know, let's just drink."

"Okay, but not as much as last time, alright?"

Dipper followed Bill as he made his way into the kitchen, then back into his room, where they began to sip at the bottles of alcohol.

They were both leaning against the headboard, and the more drunk Bill became, the more he leaned on Pine Tree.

He knew that getting drunk could have its downsides for him. For some reason, he really only could feel one emotion when he was plastered, and whatever emotion he ended up with, came on strong, and while around Dipper, that could be a bad thing.

"This helping?" Dipper ask jokingly.

"No," Bill whimpered. Fuck. Sadness. That was possibly the worst emotion he could've gotten stuck with while around Dipper.

Dipper clearly heard how pathetic he sounded and turned to comfort him. "Bill, what's wrong? I know you have your pride and everything, but if you really want me to be around you forever, then you're going to need to learn to talk to me."

Bill gritted his teeth. No way he was going to start pouting and whining about his problems. "I'm fine." Shit. His voice cracked. Ugh, human emotions are the worst.

"Bill," Dipper grabbed Bill's face and made him look him in the eyes. "Talk. To. Me. Isn't that part of the reason you have me? Someone to be at your side for this kind of stuff?"

Fuck. _Fuck_. Emotions.

"Pine Tree…" he swore a million more times in his head. Fine. It wouldn't hurt to let out some of this sadness shit the body had been holding in for a while. Right?

"I'm worried," he said softly.

"About what?" Dipper let his hands fall from Bill's cheeks and he let Bill rest his head on his shoulder.

"Myself. You. The other d-demons. Life, in general is fu-fucking stressful. I don't know, know how you humans do it. I really don't. I have magic and and money to help me through it, but you guys, you guys don't. W-what the fuck keeps you idiots going? How have you all not just blown everything the fuck up yet?"

Dipper laughed. "I don't know Bill. That's one of life's great mysteries. Why are you worried about yourself?"

Bill shrugged with one shoulder. "I held back the stronger human emotions for way too long apparently, 'cause now, now they're all rushing in like I broke a fuckin' dam or something. It's almost t-too much. I love you so much, and I hate rude people so much, and I am sad about stupid stuff too much."

He knew he was giving away a lot to Pine Tree, but he kind of didn't care right then. It felt good to drunk whine about his problems.

"'Nd I'm worried about you, 'cause if the other demons see how, _human_ you've made me, th-they're going to try and kill you. Dipper I can't fight the ones that have been threatening me. Not if it's more, more th-than one at a time."

His head started to spin. Great, he had had way too much.

Wait, fuck, was he crying? Ugh. This emotion thing could stop any time now. Any. Time now.

"I can't protect you, I can't rule with an iron fist, I can't protect myself, my friends. I c-can't…" He forced himself to stop talking. Pine Tree probably thought he was a fucking joke now.

Stupid, annoying, horrible, intrusive feelings. Bill almost felt like just cutting himself off from his human brain right then. It had made him spew his thoughts and feelings out like an idiot.

"Bill." Dipper's voice cut through his thoughts and he looked up at his human's face.

For a moment they just stared at each other, but then Dipper did something Bill didn't ever think he would do.

He pulled Bill into a kiss. A nice one too.

It was so shocking to him that he kept his eyes wide open, and became stiff.

Pine Tree pulled away from the kiss and wiped a tear from Bill's cheek. "This is exactly what you needed. Human brains aren't built to hide any of our emotions away. You _have_ to let them out when they come, or else it's all going to explode like this. From now on, tell me when stuff like this is bothering you. I don't think less of you for crying, or showing me your emotions."

Bill could only stare back at Dipper, and felt more hot tears going down his cheeks. It was awful, and no matter what Dipper said about not thinking less of him, Bill was definitely going to think less of himself for allowing this to happen.

"Maybe let's not drink anymore though, yeah?" he chuckled. "At least, let's not get drunk to a point where either of us starts crying, or can't walk."

He nodded and moved himself down so that he was lying on his side, and when Dipper joined him, he pulled him into a tight hug.

"Pine Tree?" he mumbled.

"Hm?"

"Don't ever bring this up again," he laughed.

Dipper laughed too and nodded quickly, his now long hair falling into his face a little. "I won't."

Well, that had been a fucking train wreck. It had made him feel a little better, at least about the things that were stressing him out, even though nothing got resolved. Pine Tree was a good person to let the emotions out at too, since he seemed to be understanding of it all.

Though, Bill would need to make sure Dipper knew that he still was to be feared. Why? He didn't really know. He honestly just liked power trips. That, and he wanted to make sure everyone, even those close to him, knew that he wasn't one to fuck over.

But, he could deal with all of that in the morning. For now, he was just going to enjoy the warm body next to him, and not think about the horrible things that may very well be coming their way.

* * *

 **AN: Smut!~ (** I couldn't get the link to work for some reason, so all smut for this fic can be found on Tumblr, under the url BloodBathSmut _ **)**_

 _ **Welp, that happened.**_

 _ **I hope this story lives up to all of you expectations, and that the ending doesn't make you cry too hard.**_

 _ **Still not even sorry.**_

 _ **Anyway, I really appreciate the feedback, and all the kind words and support you guys have shown me through this, and I wanted to thank you while the mood is still light. You're all awesome, and I love you.**_

 _ **The next chapter will be up in about a week, possibly sooner, idk. You know me, I'm really bad with sticking to days that I say I will update on. Sorry XD**_

 _ **Thanks for reading! 3**_


	20. Falling From the Clouds

**_AN: Welp, we're here! The last chapter of Blood Bath. Man, what a journey this thing has been! I loved writing it, and I hope you love reading this last bit of it!_**

 ** _I'm not going to lie though, I made myself sad with this one. Like, I feel bad for making it so sad. At the same time as no I don't, 'cause there's a sequel._**

 ** _Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy!_**

A loud thumping sound made Dipper jolt upwards from his bed. It looked like it was dark out, and he realized Bill was no longer in bed with him.

Wait. Had Bill even laid down with him? He knew that Bill had helped him get into bed and everything, but Dipper had no memory of Bill cuddling up to him like he usually would.

And what was that noise? It sounded almost like music, but Dipper really couldn't tell, since it was muffled.

His body fought him a little to stand up, but he managed to pull himself out of bed and made his way to his closet, where he picked out a blue shirt and loose jeans.

When he opened his door, his pocket started to buzz, and he paused to see that Ford was calling him again.

He thought for a moment about answering it. There really wasn't any reason to keep ignoring him, and it wasn't like he could just cut him out of his life after one fight. Not to mention it was really late, so something might be wrong. Might as well at least check and see what's up.

"Yeah?"

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you to answer." Ford's voice was quiet and it sounded like he had to fumble with the phone for a moment before he could speak again. "Dipper, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too, grunkle Ford."

There was a pause, and Dipper could hear Ford sigh away from the phone.

"I still don't approve of this though. I wanted to apologize for making you upset, not apologize for the things I said. Dipper, the thing isn't human." He sighed again when Dipper didn't answer then continued. "I'm going to find you a way out of this Dipper. I promise."

The line went dead and Dipper stared down at his phone for a moment. It was just like Ford to be that stubborn about something.

He shook his head and continued to the sound of the thumping noise, and as he got closer, he realized that it was music, and that it was coming from Bill's tech room.

A pop song Dipper didn't care to recognize was blaring from the TV, and empty soda cans, a few beer bottles, and chip bags were strewn about, making the room look like a huge mess.

Bill was sprawled out on the couch, out cold with his hair sticking out in all directions, and he still had chip flavor dust on his fingers

Dipper laughed at the scene then turned the music off. He figured he should probably wake Bill up and offer to help him to his room, just so that the demon didn't wake up miserable from sleeping on the couch.

In Dipper's opinion, the thing wasn't very comfortable. Sure sitting on it was fine, but he couldn't imagine sleeping on it.

First though, it was time to snap a picture. Dipper was sure that Bill had a bunch of silly pictures of him, so now it was his turn to get at least one of him.

After he got the perfect picture, he straddled Bill and lightly tapped his face.

"Bill," he said kind of loudly. "Bill!"

In the blink of an eye, Dipper felt himself being thrown onto the ground, and the room lit up with blue flames. His head connected with the ground a lot harder than he was expecting it to, and it took him a moment to reorient himself.

Bill was on top of him and squeezing down on his neck, his claws digging into Dipper's flesh.

"Dipper?" It took him a moment, but Bill realized what he was doing and moved his hand away from Dipper's throat.

Dipper sat up the best that he could from underneath Bill and had to cough, since the pressure from Bill's hand made his throat start to ache and feel scratchy.

The flames died out and Bill groaned. "Pine Tree, don't do that."

"What, wake you up?" he snapped. It wasn't like he wasn't used to being hurt by Bill, but he was still a little offended that he had thrown him down like that.

"Yeah, wake me up. You yelled my name, I thought you were in danger or something. And then having someone on top of me made me think that _I_ was being attacked." Bill seemed cranky, and didn't look like he was about to apologize for hurting him like that.

Which, usually wouldn't bother Dipper, but damn it, if Bill wanted to marry him, then he was going to apologize. They needed to be past Bill hurting him and not saying sorry.

"So…?" Dipper motioned for Bill to say something with his eyes, but Bill just stared back at him. "Aren't you going to apologize? If we're getting married you're going to need to start at least saying sorry when you hurt me."

Bill rolled his eyes and moved off of Dipper. "You're the one that sat on a sleeping demon, who you _know_ is jittery."

"You still threw me on the ground and nearly ripped my throat out! How does that not warrant an apology?" Dipper crossed his arms and glared at Bill.

He actually was surprised that Bill didn't say sorry. Sure he knew that Bill was stubborn and had way too much pride, but he figured Bill would at least give even a quick apology for hurting him.

"Pine Tree, let's just go to the room. It's just about time for bed anyway." Bill clearly hadn't realized that it was actually already three AM, and it annoyed Dipper that he was trying to get out of this.

"No," Dipper snapped. "If you won't apologize, then I'm not coming to bed." Dipper didn't care if he sounded like a brat, Bill was being childish for not saying sorry.

Bill huffed. "Pine Tree, come on," he groaned.

"If this is that big of a deal for you, then sleep alone." Dipper stormed out of the room.

He didn't know where he was going, or why he was so incredibly flustered, but he needed some fresh air.

Without thinking about it much, Dipper went out and took the blue car, needing to drive for a minute so that he could think.

Why was he so upset over an apology?

Maybe it was because it made him question some things. Maybe it was because his head still hurt, and he possibly had a concussion.

Bill was still Bill. Sure, he was much nicer, the human half had taken over quite a bit, but there was still the half that he felt didn't care about him as much. The real, actual Bill Cipher.

He had said that he would miss him if he were to leave, but the answer still felt… empty. Was the human half the part doing the engagement, or was Bill, the part of him that Dipper would actually be stuck with, in on it too?

Was he ready to spend a literal eternity with someone who wouldn't even say a quick, painless, "sorry"?

What if when their mortal bodies died, he was stuck with the pure form of Bill, and didn't like it?

He took a deep breath and decided that he needed something to help organize his thoughts. No one knew him quite as well as his other half, and he wanted to see her again anyway, so he texted Mabel really quickly to see if she was still awake.

Her answer was an enthusiastic yes, and she nearly demanded that he come over.

"Dipping Sauce!" She hugged Dipper when she opened the door to her apartment, and held him for a moment. "Everything okay?"

Dipper shrugged. "Bill and I got into a little bit of a fight. I just needed some time to think away from him."

Mabel ushered him into the apartment, and sat him down on the couch.

As he looked around, Dipper realized he had only ever been in the apartment once before. The first time it was much cleaner, since it was when he was helping her move in, and it almost didn't look like the same place.

Now there were strange knick-knacks all over, stuffed animals on shelves, and she had even painted the walls with pink glitter paint. Though it all looked a bit tacky, there was still a bit of a modern feel to it, and in all it pulled together nicely.

It warmed his heart to see that Mabel hadn't changed much over the years. He knew he could count on her to always be, well, Mabel.

"Now, tell me, what was the fight about?" She had made them tea, and sat down next to him ready to hear the entire story.

Of course, Dipper wasn't going to tell her all of it, but he still needed to vent. He hadn't been able to really vent this entire time, and it was needed.

"Just… he accidentally hurt me, and wouldn't apologize for it. It was something small and stupid, but I just am upset about it. Like, the little things feel like big things now that I know I'm going to be married to him. Am I willing to put up with that for forever? What if ten years down the road I realize this was a huge mistake? We haven't even been together that long, and yet here I am, saying yes to marrying him."

Mabel gently placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled softly at him. "Dipper, it's impossible to know what ten years down the road holds. Maybe you will regret it. Or, maybe you'll love it. Right now everything is scary since you're taking a huge step in life, so stress and worry is understandable. The only thing you have to think about is, 'does Bill make me happy'. If the answer to that is yes, then go with the flow bro! Bill is a hot billionaire, why not take a chance? The worst that can happen is that you come crying back to me, and you know I'll take care of you bro-bro."

"How are you not married Mabel?" he chuckled. "Like, why aren't there guys breakin' down your door?"

"Well, pretty sure you'd shoot them if they were trying to break down my door," she giggled. "And I did have a boyfriend, but you threatened to kill him if he hurt me. Pretty sure that scared him a little. You may not be big, but your angry face packs a punch."

"You threatened Bill with the same thing!" he smiled. "So this is a two way street sister."

They both laughed for a moment, then Dipper sighed contently. Mabel always made him feel better.

"Let's go for a walk Dipdop. We could both use some fresh air, and we won't have to deal with people since it's so late." Mabel stood up and stretched out her arms. "There's a park just down the street that would be perfect to walk around in right now."

Dipper shrugged. "Alright. I didn't bring a jacket, but I think it'll be fine."

They chatted idly about their days as they walked down to the park, both ignoring the cold that was nipping at them. Mabel forced Dipper to put on one of the generic sweaters she had lying around her apartment, but it still felt a little chilly to him.

The park was small, and didn't have very cool play equipment, meaning there weren't any swings to sit on like Dipper was hoping there were.

He was already starting to feel a lot better about Bill though. Like Mabel said, as long as Bill made him happy, then why not? And Dipper did think that Bill made him happy. Sure there were ups and downs, but when he and Dipper had their good times, they were really good.

Also, Dipper really did feel like if he wanted to, he could leave. Whether it be by asking Bill to, or just leaving, he could probably do it. Not like he wanted to, but he had the option, should he need it.

Mabel leaned against one of the metal poles on the playground, and crossed her arms, trying to keep herself warm. "I've missed spending time with you Dipper. We need to make this happen more often. It's weird not having you around."

"I know," Dipper said softly. "And I promise I'm not doing it on purpose. I'll try harder to spend time with you guys."

She nodded then looked down at her feet, where she kicked at some of the wood chips that padded the ground around the play area. "Wendy told me you and Ford got into a fight over Bill. He really hates him huh?"

"Yup." Dipper kicked at some wood chips as well.

"Why?" She looked up at him with wide eyes. "Dipper, Bill really isn't as bad as he makes him seem right? Like, please tell me if he's mean to you. You don't have to put up with it if he is. I really hope he's not, and I want you to be happy and not doubt your relationship… but… I worry Dipper."

Dipper pulled her into a hug. "Mabel, I promise I'm fine. Our relationship is… different, but if I really didn't like it, I would be out of it by now."

She hugged him back and patted his shoulder softly. "Okay. I believe you Dipper."

"Aw, look how cute." A voice Dipper had never heard before came from behind him, and he spun around to see who it was.

There at the edge of the play area, a demon with bright pink skin and large, pure white eyes stood, arms crossed and smiling widely at Dipper. His teeth were sharp like Bill's, and his hair was short and ink black, blending in with the night around them. Also like Bill, it had a tail that flicked back and forth, and with its appearance and the demon-like outfit it was wearing, it looked just as terrifying as Bill's demon form did.

Mabel grabbed onto Dipper and he could feel her shaking.

"Don't scream Mabel it's okay," he whispered. "Stay right here and call Bill." He handed her his cell phone and stepped forward.

"What, no Cipher? I thought you two were in _love_ ," he mocked.

"I don't know who you are, but you should probably leave." Though Dipper was terrified, he tried his best to seem unphased by the new demon.

He had to play it carefully though since Mabel was there, and he would need to do everything he could to make it so that he didn't have to change into his demon form.

"Oh, I should, should I?" He stepped closer, but Dipper met him halfway so that they were further from Mabel.

The two stared each other down for a moment, and Dipper could feel his heart thumping so hard that he thought that it might actually explode.

"Leave, _now_ ," Dipper growled.

"Tough guy!" The demon grabbed Dipper by the collar and tossed him into the small pavilion that was close by. "C'mon, I know you can put up at least a little bit of a fight! Show me what you got, pet!"

Dipper had landed right on one of the two metal tables, and couldn't make himself stand up right away. His head still hurt from Bill tackling him, and now his back was aching from slamming into the table.

The demon was on top of him again, that time grabbing him by the throat and pulling him up to his feet.

" _This_ is what made the great Bill Cipher soft? I don't see the appeal." With his free hand, he grabbed Dipper by the hair, while the hand on his throat squeezed. "Are you ready to see what real power looks like?"

Dipper kicked his legs up at the demon, but couldn't get any of the kicks to connect hard enough. "L-let me go!"

He squeezed him even harder, and he could feel the demon's claws start to rip into his skin.

Where was Bill? Did he not answer the phone because he was mad at Dipper? What if he didn't come to help him? Could he protect Mabel?

At this point he had to change. There was no way he could keep trying to fight like this, and he figured it would be better for Mabel to know about him rather than have them both be murdered.

"Aw, look at that, you think this'll help?" The demon slammed Dipper down onto the table and chuckled at his squirming. "I'd play around with you more, but I have another stop to make after this, and I'd hate to be late. I wonder, do I need to rip your heart out, or will snapping your neck do the job?"

The world around them suddenly became bright and warm, making the demon pause for a moment.

"You should probably let him go," Bill sang.

Dipper felt relief wash over him. Hearing Bill's distorted demon voice was never something that he thought he would love to hear, but the sound of it almost soothed him right then.

"Bill, Cipher. Looks like my next stop has come to me." The demon yanked Dipper up and held him out in front of himself. "I found your pet. I thought for sure you wouldn't let him go for a walk on his own. Aren't these things supposed to have leashes or something?"

With his better view, Dipper could see that Bill looked down right insane. His eyes and smile were wide, the way he was holding himself looked like he was ready to strike at any second, and his breathing was uneven.

He figured that Bill was probably actually really nervous, but he didn't need the other demon to know that.

"I'll tie him up later. For now, I think you should set him aside and pick a real fight." Bill beckoned at the demon to come at him, and it did.

After it threw Dipper back at the playground.

He landed against one of the poles with a loud ping sound, and couldn't pull himself back up no matter how hard he tried.

"Dipper!" Mabel rushed over and kneeled down next to him. "Are you okay? What's going on? Why do you look like that?"

He forced his eyes open and blinked at her a few times before speaking. "I'll be okay." His voice was hoarse and he tried to clear his throat before continuing. "We need to keep you out of the way Mabel. I can explain more later but, for now we have to keep low and hope Bill can kill him."

She nodded and hesitantly reached out to touch his face. "W-what are you guys? When did this happen? _How_ , did this happen?"

"It's… all super complicated, but I promise I'll tell you later."

A few yards away from them, Bill and the other demon were fighting, both getting in decent blows.

The other demon had fire of its own, though nowhere near as bright and warm as Bill's, it still made him more intimidating.

"Come _on_ Cipher, where's the real fight? I thought you took Shawn out in a matter of seconds. I'm only a little bit more powerful than he was." The demon punched at Bill, hitting him right in the chest, sending him a few feet back, where he landed on his ass. "Tsk, this is hardly a fight. You're holding back Cipher. Is it because of the human and your pet? Don't want to accidentally hurt them?"

Bill pulled himself up, and Dipper could see that he was starting to struggle.

He thought he might need to intervene like he did with Shawn, but he couldn't pull himself up.

"Dipper, you need to stay down, you're hurt." Mabel had her hands on his shoulders and kept him from moving too much.

"H-he needs my help Mabel," he said through gritted teeth. "He might-" he cringed at the pan in his chest "He might die if I don't."

"You might die if you go and help!" Her voice cracked and Dipper could see tears starting to stream down her cheeks.

The other demon started to laugh, and Dipper looked up to see that he was holding Bill up by the throat.

"The great, Bill Cipher, brought down by the likes of me?" He tossed Bill into a park sign that had the park's rules on it, and started to walk towards Dipper and Mabel. "Now you can listen and watch your pet and this human die."

Dipper tried to get up. He put as much force behind his limbs as he could. But nothing wanted to respond to him.

"Hm, I think I'll make the pet watch the human die, then kill the pet, then I'll come back to you, okay Cipher?" He seemed so smug and sure of himself, and it made Dipper fill with hot rage.

"You touch my sister, and I swear to god I will rip your heart out and fucking eat it," Dipper spat. He bared his teeth in an attempt to seem more threatening, but the demon just laughed.

"We'll see about that," he sang.

The demon was just a foot away from them, smiling at Mabel, who was holding onto Dipper tightly and sobbing.

"I'll make it quick for you," he laughed.

As he reached his hand out to pull Mabel from him, Dipper felt something in his head flick like a switch. He was angry. More angry than he had ever been in his entire life. And he could _feel_ it.

"Do not," Dipper growled as he grabbed the demon's arm "touch, my sister."

The next few moments felt like some weird blur. Like he had done when he ate that guy, he sat back and watched himself go practically feral.

The demon laughed at his punches at first, but soon Dipper was on top of him, punching harder than his fists even felt like they could handle.

Before he even realized he had done it, his hand was inside of the demon's chest and he felt his claws digging into the demon's heart.

With a satisfying "squish" sound, Dipper moved his hand back and flicked his hand around to get the remaining pieces of gore off of it.

"Pine Tree, what the hell," Bill was standing behind him, his arm around Mabel who was helping him stay upright. "We'll talk about this later," he mumbled.

Oh god, Mabel was going to see how crazy he looked. He had blood all over his hands, there was still a horrid, insane smile glued to his lips, and his arms were shaking from exerting himself so much.

"Dipper?" Mabel whispered. "Are you okay?"

"F-fine." Dipper forced himself to stand up, and had to keep still for a moment while his body shook and returned to normal.

"Star, I think you should stay at our place tonight. Just to be safe. You should be fine to leave in the morning, but for now, it'd be best to have you two near me."

Mabel nodded and wiped her face. "Only if Dipper promises to stop lying and tell me what's going on."

"I will Mabel. I promise."

Once they were home, Mabel helped Bill into his room, then helped Dipper into his.

She sat on the bed next to him and crossed her arms. "No more lying to me. What are you Dipper? How did this happen? Did Bill do this? Who was at the park? Was he what you are?"

Dipper cringed at the comfort of the bed. His entire body ached and he really just wanted to pass out, but he knew he was caught. He would have to explain everything to Mabel. "Alright. I'll tell you. Just, first, promise not to tell Ford about any of this, okay? This is between us."

Mabel nodded. "I'm all ears."

For the next few hours, Dipper tried his best to tell his story of the past two months or so. While keeping out some of the grosser, and more personal details, he told her all that he could.

She listened with wide eyes, nodding every so often to let him know that she was still listening. A few times she even gasped, covering her mouth to stop herself from asking a bunch of questions.

"So… yeah. That's," he paused to yawn "been my life for the past little while. I'm sorry I kept this from you Mabel. I really am."

Mabel had ended up lying down next to him, and she placed her hand on his shoulder while smiling. "Dipper, I don't blame you. This is… well, fucked up to say the least. I promise I won't tell Ford, and I support your decision to stay with Bill."

He pulled her into a hug and felt like he might cry. Getting all of that out, even if he had just scarred his sister for life a bit, felt good. "I don't know what I did to deserve you Mabel."

"Me either. You're," she paused and giggled "no angel."

Dipper laughed at it too, and rolled over onto his back. It was just like Mabel to laugh off horrible things. He was glad for it though. That just meant that she was taking this all well.

"I do need to leave in a little while though. I don't think I can wait another day to catch up on my work. And I'd really like to get caught up before your wedding so that I can focus on the suits." She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Ah, heck, I was wearing make up. Now I look like I've been hit," she laughed.

"You'll be my best woman right?" Dipper sat up too and flinched at the dull pain in his arms.

"Of course bro-bro! As long as you promise to get better. That fight looked like it hurt."

He rolled his eyes, but kept a humored look on his face. "Of course. And yeah, other demons are pricks. Well, not all are bad, just… most of them."

Mabel punched his arm as lightly as she could and stood up. "I'll see you later Dipper. Text me, okay? Let me know how you and Bill are feeling later."

"Will do Mabel."

After she left, Dipper found it impossible to keep himself awake any longer. It was about the time he usually got up, but he doubted Bill would mind him sleeping in.

He dreamed about the different ways Mabel could have taken his story. She could have freaked out and ran right to Ford. She could have disowned him for doing such terrible things. Hell, she could've tried to kill him right then and there.

But she didn't. She was her usual, supportive self. And though Dipper could see the fear and confusion in her eyes, she still smiled and told him she would be there for him.

When Dipper finally woke up, he smelled something wonderful wafting into his room. It was as if an entire gourmet breakfast place was right next to him.

He followed his nose to the source of the smell, and found Bill in the kitchen, cooking and humming to music playing from little speakers up in the ceiling that Dipper hadn't noticed before.

"Morning," he mumbled. He sat down in his usual chair at the table and yawned while rubbing his face. He felt better, but not by much.

"Feeling alright?" Bill kept his focus on the food, and seemed more drained than he had ever been before.

"Mm. You?" Dipper rested his head on his hand, and absentmindedly traced the knots in the table with his finger.

Bill finally turned to face Dipper and shrugged. "You know me, too stubborn to stay down."

Dipper tapped at the table and nodded. "So, last night was terrifying."

"Yeah," Bill said quietly. "That's why I'm going to ask now that you don't run off again. Word will likely spread about that demon dying, and if what I've heard about that group is true, then more attacks are likely to follow."

"Okay."

They stayed quiet after that, and even ate the delicious omelettes, bacon, and sausage in silence.

The breakfast might have been some form of an apology from Bill. Dipper wanted an actual, "sorry", but he didn't say anything. Though it was a quiet midday, the breakfast food was delicious, and he felt really at home right then with Bill, so he didn't want to taint the tranquility of it all.

Dipper took a sip of his coffee hummed pleasantly at its taste. "This coffee is really good. What's all in it?"

"Well, coffee, then there's some sugar, cream, and my blood." Bill took a bite of his food and shrugged. "Had to make you feel better somehow."

"Thanks," he nearly whispered. "As fucked up as it sounds, it actually tastes really good," he laughed.

There was another silence before Bill sighed and set his fork down. "We're going on a vacation."

"Where to?" Dipper set his fork down as well and put his hands down in his lap.

"I'm thinking somewhere warm, since it's starting to get cold out. An island maybe. I own a few, if you want to go to one of those."

"Of course you do," he chuckled. "Anywhere is fine with me."

Bill nodded then continued to eat.

A vacation huh? That was definitely going to make them bond even more and strengthen their relationship. Hopefully, anyway.

Which, made Dipper start to feel a little guilty. He was still hiding the knife from Bill. He had pretty much come to the conclusion that he really didn't want to kill Bill, but would he need to? What if the only way to stop him was to kill him?

Dipper couldn't just let Bill kill everyone. He needed to find out once and for all what Bill's plans were, and if he could stop them. Might as well find out now while he still could even consider doing it, rather than waiting until he was unable to bring himself to do it.

"Can we go out today, somewhere private? Just the two of us?" Dipper avoided eye contact with Bill and took a sip of his coffee.

"Uh, sure? Why?" Bill finished his food then chugged his coffee while waiting for Dipper to answer.

He shrugged. "Just to talk. I feel like the air between us is a little thick right now. We could use a relaxing day outside."

Bill narrowed his eyes at him. "Outside maybe isn't the best place to be today. The other demons that have it out for us may be angry enough to try and attack us again today. I'm tough, but twice in a row, and if there's more of them, then I wouldn't know what to do."

Dipper nodded. "Alright. I guess we can stay in today." He hadn't meant to, but Dipper sounded sad with his reply.

With a sigh, Bill chuckled. " _But_ , I do have a place that will likely be safe that's outdoors. I own some land a little ways from the city, we can go up there. It'll take like an an hour and a half to get to though."

"That's fine. Just being outside sounds nice today." He nearly sighed in relief. He wanted to be in a nice secluded area with Bill, so that any way the conversation went, they wouldn't be putting anyone else in harms way, or in a small place where a freak out would be made worse.

"Sounds good then. We'll head up after we both shower and clean up."

Once Dipper was showered, shaved, and changed into new clothes, he took several deep breaths. It was time to grab the knife.

He had only moved it once since he had first hidden it, and it now resided in his drawers, underneath his jeans.

It was still a sight to behold. Even though it was probably pretty old, the knife still had a good shine to it, and still felt sturdy.

Dipper hid it in his pants, and made his way out of the room, where Bill was waiting in the entry way for him.

"Ready?" he yawned.

"Yeah. Want me to drive?"

Bill shook his head. "I'm okay."

The entire ride there was filled only with music from the radio. Bill seemed like he did want to talk, but wasn't sure what to say, and Dipper just felt incredibly nervous. If Bill said he was still planning on killing everyone, and he couldn't convince him not to, then he would have to stab him.

It would be hard, but he would just have to think about how many lives he would be saving. He and Filly could figure out the aftermath, and even find a way to take care of the other demons that were power hungry. But first, he would need Bill out of the way.

When the car stopped, Dipper sucked in a shaky breath, stepping out as casually as he possibly could.

Bill somewhat awkwardly grabbed his hand, and pulled him along as they walked towards what looked like an abandoned barn.

It sat in the middle of a freakishly green field, the grass too long to walk through comfortably, and the stereotypical red paint on the rustic building was peeling so badly that it was almost hard to see that it had once been there.

They walked along a dirt road that had foliage starting to creep up on it, and Dipper just stared in awe at the picture-esc landscape around them.

"Nice, huh? I bought it a while back and just couldn't think of anything to do with it. Now I just use it as a hide away. I didn't think I'd ever show it to anyone honestly." Bill walked him all the way to the barn, and leaned against one of the walls, facing out into the largest part of the field.

Dipper leaned next to him and stared out at the grass. It was swaying slightly in the wind, and it made him chuckle. This looked like something straight out of a movie.

"I'm not dumb Dipper," Bill said suddenly.

"What?" He looked over and met Bill's eyes.

"You brought me out for a reason. What is it?"

He felt his chest get tight and his face heat up. Okay. Simple. Ask Bill about world domination. If he says yes, and you can't convince him not to, then stab him. If not, tell him that you've been hiding the knife. Tell him the truth.

Easy.

"S-so, uhm…" He cleared his throat and forced himself to keep his gaze on Bill's. "You're not still… wanting to like, destroy everything. Are you?"

Bill smiled weakly and closed his eyes. "Pine Tree, I thought you were going to like, break up with me or something," he chuckled.

"So?" Dipper pressed.

He looked away from Dipper and sighed. "I figured you'd ask me this. Look, I hate to admit it, but…" Bill trailed off, and before he could finish, a clicking sound cut him off entirely.

Both turned to look behind Bill, and were met with the barrel of Ford's gun.

"I was hoping you two would come out somewhere private. I've been waiting for the best time to help Dipper get out of this."

Dipper moved in front of Bill and scowled at Ford. "What the hell, you've been following us!? Seriously!?"

Ford used his gun to motion for Dipper to move. "He clearly has you drugged or something Dipper! How can you not see that? You're too smart to be falling for this!"

Instead of moving Dipper just crossed his arms and nearly growled at Ford. "You don't think I can take care of myself? I'm an adult Stanford! Just because you don't understand the situation, doesn't mean you can just show up with a gun!"

At the mention of his full name, Ford lowered his gun a bit and groaned. "Dipper, please, I know you're a man now, and I know you're smart, but this… This is ridiculous!" He took a deep breath in through his nose then lowered his gun completely. "If he really does care for you, then he'll let you leave. Come home for a month. Get away and see if this is still what you want."

"How convenient that would be for you," Bill snorted. "I don't have to approve of him leaving. He's free to come and go as he pleases. The only reason I keep him in most of the time is for his safety."

"Safety from what?"

"From us," another voice rang from the field.

Four demons stood in the tall grass, all looking incredibly smug. One had pale orange scales all over its body, gray eyes, and it had wings that looked almost too small to even be real. The other next to it was a light green, with purple eyes, and purple hair pulled into a ponytail. The other two almost seemed to be related, since they both had red skin, brown hair, and pink eyes, though their facial features differed in several ways.

Bill reached back and grabbed Dipper's hand. "Pine Tree," he nearly gasped. "This is too many." He looked back and met Dipper's eyes.

Dipper had never felt fear quite like that before. And it was because Bill looked scared. He looked like he was about to just flinch and take his beating.

"What do we do?" Dipper squeezed his hand back and could feel himself shake a little.

"We fight. It's all we can do right now. You up for this?" He looked to Ford and took a deep breath. "Aim for the heart. The only way we're getting out of this, is if we all fight as hard as we can. These demons aren't to be taken lightly, so no fucking around."

Dipper and Ford both nodded. "I'm with you Bill." Dipper let go of his hand and began to tense himself, getting ready to fight. He knew he was going to have to change in front of Ford, and he was okay with that. Again, he'd rather have him alive than keep the secret.

"This has been a long time coming Cipher. Ever since you picked up that human you've gotten soft. You should've eaten him and gotten it out of the way," the orange one shouted. "Now you get to die with your pet."

"I shouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning," Bill yawned.

Dipper caught on that Bill was going to try and play unafraid and cool, so he played along and stopped himself from looking anxious.

"I wouldn't have had to deal with you losers," he spat. His fire engulfed the field, and he stepped closer to them. "What have you got against me anyway? Why the sudden need to attack? I'm a demon of the people, tell me the issue, so that I can send you on your way."

"You're taking too long to kill the humans!" One of the red ones shouted.

"And you've gone way too soft for the human pet! We can't have a leader that can't kill one human just because it's 'special'. We've been planning this attack for a while now. Last night was to break you down, and now, there's no way you can take us." The green one moved closer and smirked. "You're powerful Cipher, but you can't take us all."

A gunshot silenced everyone, and the green demon fell to its knees.

"Huh, the heart is a good place to shoot." Ford aimed his gun at another one, but they moved out of the way, two of them dodging to the side, while one of the red ones dashed forward, and threw him back into the bar wall, which shattered from his weight, and left a hole where Ford had been thrown.

Bill moved to take down the one the was already hurt, and Dipper grabbed the one that had flung Ford back so that it couldn't finish the job.

There was no way he was going to hold up a decent fight, not unless he made himself lose control again. But how could he make himself do it? The first time was because he felt like he was going to die if he didn't, and the second time was because Mabel was going to die if he didn't.

Okay, so he just had to focus on the fact that they were all going to die if he couldn't lose control.

Bill had killed the demon Ford had shot, but was struggling to fight off two of the demons, and the one with Dipper was all too easily holding him from throwing any punches.

Everything felt like it was going too fast to process.

He didn't have time to work himself up before the demon held his arm around his neck, he didn't have time to think about the knife in his pants before the two with Bill were holding him by the arms, and forcing him down onto his knees.

"Bill!" Dipper dug his nails into the demon's arm, and yanked it away, spinning around quickly, nearly fumbling to pull the knife out. He dug it into the demon's chest, and after a moment of watching it gasp, he yanked it back out and turned to help Bill.

With each movement, he felt like he was moving in slow motion while the world around him sped up.

His foot hits the ground as he tried to run to Bill.

The demon's are laughing.

He readies the knife to stab one of the other demons.

Bill looks up at him and Dipper can see a small smile on his lips, but his eyes are filling with tears.

Oh god.

He pushes one of the demons off of Bill, and stabs it, trying to end its life quickly so he can turn to the next one.

Before Dipper could turn around, he flinched at a horrible sound.

As he slowly turned his head, he could see the hand sticking out from Bill's chest.

No. No, no, no, no.

He launched himself onto the other demon, knocking it away from Bill, and stabbed it several times in the chest.

"Pine Tree," Bill said softly.

Dipper almost couldn't make himself turn around.

"Pine Tree," he repeated, with a little more sternness in his voice.

Bill was lying on the ground, blood pouring out from his chest.

"Bill," Dipper kneeled next to him and scooped him up, pulling him up onto his lap. "This isn't happening." His voice cracked and he shook his head. "Bill, we were just doing okay. This isn't happening."

"Yeah," Bill chuckled. "Listen to me carefully, okay? Can you do what I ask?"

"Yes." Dipper felt his eyes start to sting. This wasn't happening. He was going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay.

"My magic is going to go to you and Filly. Don't hold it back. You'll be getti-" he stopped and Dipper could feel his entire body cringe and shiver. "Getting m-most of it. Listen to Filly. She's a good friend."

"Bill, stop, you're going to be fine." Dipper put his hand on Bill's face and he could feel hot tears start to stream down his cheeks.

"No," he chuckled. "I'm not. This was-" he took in a deep shuddering breath "this wasn't expected. I shouldn't have agreed to come out."

"No," Dipper whispered. "Bill, no." Dipper felt his face grow hot, as tears of his own started to come pouring out. "I was just starting to really love you," he whimpered.

"I know." Bill reached his hand up to Dipper's face and cupped his cheek. "Pine Tree?"

Dipper looked Bill in the eyes and tried his best to blink away the tears making his vision blurry. "Yeah?"

The once vibrant, golden eyes were now dulled, and looked more human than Dipper ever thought they could.

"I'm sorry." Bill said it so quietly that Dipper almost didn't pick it up.

Bill's hand slipped from his face, and Dipper felt a weird shudder go through his body.

"Bill?"

No response.

"Bill?" Dipper shook him a little, but he still didn't respond.

"Fuck. Fuck! Fuck!" He pulled Bill's body in closer and felt himself start to shake.

For the first time in a long time, the long awaited sobbing hit him, hard.

He cried because all that Bill had done to him. He cried because of how much this hurt him. And he cried because Bill was gone. He cried because the body in his arms was limp, and lifeless.

It had to have been hours when he finally stopped shaking. He had run out of tears to cry, and his body ached.

A hand was placed on his shoulder, and he didn't bother to look up at who it was.

"Dipper," a female voice said softly. "We need to clean up."

It was Filly. How she found them, he didn't know, or care, but at least he had help now.

"He's gone," Dipper choked. "H-he's gone."

She rubbed his back and nodded. "I know. I felt it too. His magic shifted over to us when he… went."

Dipper could hear a few others milling about around him, probably cleaning up the dead demons.

"It's a miracle you survived," she halfheartedly laughed. "That knife saved your ass."

"But it didn't save his," Dipper snapped. "I wasn't fast enough."

She looked down at Bill and nodded. "You were at least quick enough to stop them from completely destroying the heart. Dipper, the vessel might be salvageable." Her tone was anything but reassuring. He could hear the doubt dripping from her voice.

"Yeah. Okay."

Filly's face dropped and she nodded. "It is very unlikely. But, we can try."

8-Ball came and took Bill's body from him. It was hard for Dipper to let go of him, but he knew he had to. Ford was still there, and hurt, so he needed to go tend to him. Though they were fighting, he still couldn't stand to lose two people in one day.

"Dipper," he groaned. He was still lying inside the barn and seemed to have just woken up. "What happened?"

"Bill protected us. You don't have to worry about him anymore though. He's gone."

Ford's eyes widened and Dipper could see his face twist in confusion. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

Dipper couldn't respond. He just needed to go. Somewhere. Anywhere else besides this barn and field.

And so he went. He drove home. He sat in the kitchen. That was too painful. He moved to his room. Also too painful.

Eventually he ended up staying with Mabel. At first he just went over and cried his eyes out for a couple of nights, but after a week, she insisted that he just move in.

Bill's magic wasn't bothering him. Filly said that it might take a while to kick in, but he hadn't felt it. Most of his days were spent lying on Mabel's couch, watching TV.

Filly had told the media that there was a bad accident, and that Bill was just in critical condition in a hospital that they wouldn't name. She still had hope that they might be able to save Bill's body, and bring his soul back, but as time went on, even she was becoming less and less optimistic about it.

She had taken on all of his affairs, and did all of his work, only occasionally asking Dipper to do something, like act on Bill's part, or post to his social media so that people wouldn't find out about his death.

It was heartbreaking. Every time someone mentioned Bill, it made Dipper feel like he had a hole in his soul.

A few weeks later, Dipper wasn't feeling any better. Mabel was trying her hardest to cheer him up, but a lot of it fell on deaf ears.

"I'm going to work, okay? I'll bring you home some snacks." She smiled warmly at him, but Dipper just slightly hummed to acknowledge that she had said something.

He didn't do it to be rude, but he just couldn't force himself to do or say much else. He hadn't even left the apartment in a solid week.

For a couple hours, Dipper stared at the wall. He needed to do something. He had to, right then, or he was going to go crazy.

Then, he was in his car. Driving. Where? He wasn't sure yet, but he just drove.

He swore loudly when he realized he had driven himself to Bill's house.

An hour passed of him staring at the front door. He finally willed himself to get out of the car and carefully make his way over the icy driveway and into the mansion.

It felt cold. The hominess that was there just weeks ago was gone.

He made his way to his old room. It was exactly as he had left it.

Eventually he found himself in Bill's room, lying on his bed.

It was so unfair. He had just started to want Bill. To love him. To be at home with him. And he was ripped away. Just like that. Bill was gone.

Dipper took out his phone, and looked at the wallpaper. It was the picture he had taken of Bill on the couch.

A small smile found his lips and he felt his hands start to tremble. The last words Bill had said to him repeated themselves in his head over and over again.

" _I'm sorry_."

" _I'm sorry._ "

He shook his head and wiped a few tears away with the sleeve of his hoodie.

"It's okay Bill," he whispered. "I forgive you."

 ** _AN: Ending theme~_**

 ** _( X )_**

 ** _Thank you for reading! I really appreciate all of the feedback and support you guys have given me through this. I look forward to writing the sequel to this, and more fanfics!_**

 ** _This didn't turn out exactly as I had planned, but it was my first time doing something of this size, and I'm so proud of myself for sticking to it and finishing it. Please forgive me if the ending wasn't all you hoped it would be. I wanted to leave it open, since the sequel will delve right back into it all, and explain a lot more._**

 ** _I will no longer be posting here on fanfic. I will finish posting Playing With Shadows, but after that I will be on AO3. Sorry for any inconveniences that may cause, I just like using that site a lot more, and it's hard to post on both here and there for every update._**

 ** _The sequel for Blood Bath, Internal Affairs, is now being posted on AO3 under this same username. Please check my profile here if you have any questions._**

 ** _I love you guys, and I hope you have a great day!_**

 ** _PS. Sorry if I made you cry. *hugs* 3_**


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